| Spindletop | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
 The Lucas Gusher at Spindletop. Jan 10, 1901.
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| Location: | Spindletop Hill, South of Beaumont, Texas, USA |
| Coordinates: | 30°1′9″N 94°4′26″W / 30.01917°N 94.07389°W |
| Built/Founded: | 1900 |
| Added to NRHP: | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHL: | November 13, 1966 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000818 |
Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in south Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of Jurassic age.[1] On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil ("came in"). The new oil field soon produced more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day.[2] Oil prices dropped to a record low of 3 cents per barrel, less than the price of water in some areas.[3] Gulf Oil and Texaco, now part of Chevron Corporation, were formed to develop production at Spindletop.[4]
The strike at Spindletop represented a turning point for Texas and the nation. No oil field in the world had ever been so productive.[2] The frenzy of oil exploration and the economic development it generated in the state became known as the Texas Oil Boom. The United States soon became the leading oil producer in the world.
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History
There had long been suspicions that oil might be under "Spindletop Hill." The area was known for its sulfur springs and bubbling gas seepages that would ignite if lit. In August 1892, George W. O'Brien, George W. Carroll, Pattillo Higgins and others formed the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company to do exploratory drilling on Spindletop Hill. The company drilled many dry holes and ran into trouble, as investors began to balk at pouring more money into drilling with no oil to show for it.
Pattillo Higgins left the company and teamed with Captain Anthony F. Lucas, the leading expert in the U.S. on salt dome formations. Lucas made a lease agreement in 1899 with the Gladys City Company and a later agreement with Higgins. Lucas drilled to 575 ft (175 m) before running out of money. He secured additional funding from John H. Galey and James M. Guffey of Pittsburgh, but the deal left Lucas with only a small share of the lease and Higgins with nothing.[5]
Lucas continued drilling and on January 10, 1901, at a depth of 1,139 ft (347 m), what is known as the Lucas Gusher or the Lucas Geyser blew oil over 150 ft (46 m) in the air at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d)(4,200,000 gallons).[citation needed] It took nine days before the well was brought under control.[citation needed] Spindletop was the largest gusher the world had seen and catapulted Beaumont into an oil-fueled boomtown. Beaumont's population of 10,000 tripled in three months and eventually rose to 50,000.[6] Speculation led land prices to increase rapidly. By the end of 1902, over 600 companies were formed and 285 active wells were in operation.[citation needed]
Production began to decline rapidly after 1902, and the wells produced only 10,000 barrels per day (1,600 m3/d) by 1904.[citation needed] On November 14, 1925, the Yount-Lee Oil Company brought in its McFaddin No. 2 at a depth of about 2,500 feet (760 m), sparking a second boom that completely eclipsed the first discovery.[citation needed] Over the next ten years, over 72 million more barrels of oil were produced, mostly from the newer areas of the field.[citation needed] Spindletop continued as a productive source of oil until about 1936.[citation needed] It was then mined for sulfur from the 1950s to about 1975.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Hyne, Norman J., Nontechnical guide to petroleum geology, exploration, drilling, and production, Pennwell Books, 2nd ed. p. 193 ISBN 978-0878148233
- ^ a b Wooster, Robert; Sanders, Christine Moor: Spindletop Oilfield from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 18 Oct 2009., Texas State Historical Association
- ^ "Texas Almanac: City Population History from 1850–2000". Texas State Historical Association. http://www.texasalmanac.com/population/population-city-history.pdf. Retrieved 20 Oct 2009.
- ^ Daniel Yergin, The Prize, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p.75-78.
- ^ Daniel Yergin, The Prize, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p.75.
- ^ Daniel Yergin, The Prize, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p.69.
- McKinley, Fred B., and Greg Riley. Black Gold to Bluegrass: From the Oil Fields of Texas to Spindletop Farm of Kentucky, historical non-fiction, Austin: Eakin Press, 2005, ISBN 1-4241-7751-0
External links
Coordinates: 30°01′05″N 94°04′23″W / 30.018°N 94.073°W
- Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum (flash)
- Spindletop Oilfield from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Oil and Gas Industry from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Spindletop: The Original Salt Dome - World Energy Magazine Vol. 3 No. 2
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