Extra! Extra! Eyes of the World on Texas: Spindletop and
the Texas Oil Boom

A graphic of a folded newspaper with the title text of Texas Archival News Vol. 1 Issue 1 All Parts, Texas February 26, 2024 75 cents and the headline text of Extra! Extra! Eyes of the World on Texas


In This Exhibit:   Death of a President in Dallas  |  Spindletop and the Texas Oil Boom  |  Galveston Hurricane of 1900  |  Texas Tornadoes  |  Man on the Moon  |  UT Sniper  |  Texas City Disaster  |  New London School Explosion  |  Waco  |  HOME

Spindletop and the Texas Oil Boom

The gusher that blew at Spindletop on January 10, 1901, was not the first successful well in the country or even in Texas. But the tremendous production power signified by the blast, shooting oil 200 feet in the air, followed by the 70,000 barrels-a-day flowing after the strike, kicked off a boom that established the state’s petroleum industry and forever changed how we live. The population of nearby Beaumont exploded from 9,000 to about 50,000 people in a matter of months. Derricks blossomed across the landscape. The origins of gas companies Texaco, Mobil, and Exxon are all linked to this event. The abundance of fuel transformed transportation in the U.S. as gas became cheaper, and a new infrastructure developed out of the need to deliver oil to destinations all over the world. The Lucas Gusher at Spindletop was the beginning of a new era in American history.

A postcard showing an oil well gushing oil high into the air with other oil wells in the background. Color has been added showing a pink and blue sky and green grass. Color-added photograph of oil well gushing near Beaumont. Don Kelly Southeast Texas Postcard Collection, 1991/183-0569. SHC.

Color-added photograph of oil well gushing near Beaumont. Don Kelly Southeast Texas Postcard Collection, 1991/183-0569. SHC. 
Click or tap on image to view larger version.

A tan colored newspaper sheet with a black ink article headline of “Oil Struck Near Beaumont,” Jan. 11, 1901 Houston Daily Post.

“Oil Struck Near Beaumont,” Jan. 11, 1901. Houston Daily Post.
 Click or tap on image to view larger version.

A tan colored newspaper sheet of the Houston Daily Post with a black ink article headline of “Solid Stream of Petroleum” Jan. 13, 1901. Front page, Jan. 13, 1901, Houston Daily Post.

Front page, Jan. 13, 1901, Houston Daily Post.
Click or tap on image to view larger version.

 


 

 

A softcover book with the shape of Texas in the background and dark blue star shooting out of the area of Spindletop with the text of Spindletop--a Texas Titan: the story of the Lucas Well, brought in on January 10, 1901, which started the oil development of Texas. American Petroleum Institute, 1945. TSLAC-MAIN Collection, 622.338 AM35. i

Spindletop--a Texas Titan: the story of the Lucas Well, brought in on January 10, 1901, which started the oil development of Texas. American Petroleum Institute, 1945. TSLAC-MAIN Collection, 622.338 AM35. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
 




A pin back button with a tan background, a drawing of an oil well gushing oil, with the text on the edges of Lucas oil well Beaumont , Texas Jan-10-01 A Lucas Oil Well button, Artifacts Collection, ATF0268.

A Lucas Oil Well button, Artifacts Collection, ATF0268.  Click or tap on image to view larger version.

The Lucas geyser was the first major oil gusher (or blowout) of the Texas oil boom. Anthony F. Lucas, the leading United States expert on salt dome formations at the time, led the first successful effort for oil drilling on Spindletop Hill, south of Beaumont, that resulted in the Lucas geyser on January 10, 1901. The geyser, found at a depth of 1,139 feet, blew a stream of oil over 100 feet high until it was capped nine days later and flowed an estimated 100,000 barrels a day, marking the birth of the modern petroleum industry.

 


 

The front cover of a blue hardback book with text in gold of Spindletop Where Oil Became an Industry 1901-1951 Official Proceedings of the Spindletop 50th Anniversary Commission. Spindletop: Where Oil Became an Industry, c1951. Spencer Robinson. TSLAC-MAIN Collection 622.338 SP46s.

Spindletop: Where Oil Became an Industry, c1951. Spencer Robinson. TSLAC-MAIN Collection 622.338 SP46s.  Click or tap on image to view larger version.

The Spindletop Fiftieth Anniversary, Inc. formed to lead activities commemorating the anniversary of the Lucas geyser in 1951. Committees organized various celebrations such as a Parade of Progress, a Hall of Exhibits, and a Lucas Gusher Monument dedication, and raised funds for an educational endowment donated to Lamar State College of Technology at Beaumont (now Lamar University) for an engineering library. This volume of contains the text of speeches, the winner of an essay contest, photos of events, and other information sharing the significance of the petroleum industry at the time. etter between Horrell and Higgins family members regarding ongoing feud, July 30, 1877.

 



A black and white photograph of a single very tall oil well gushing oil. Oil gusher near Ranger, Texas, ca. 1910-1940. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3617. 

 Oil gusher near Ranger, Texas, ca. 1910-1940. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3617.
Click or tap on image to view larger version.



 

A black and white photograph with a large white border of tall oil derricks in a field. “Oil derricks in a field, ca.1910-1940. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3616.

“Oil derricks in a field, ca.1910-1940. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3616.
 Click or tap on image to view larger version.



A black and white photograph of a large circular patch of soil with a hole for a tank and a man next to it in a horse drawn buggy. Dry earthen tank dug into the ground, ready for oil, ca. 1910-1920. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3618. 

 Dry earthen tank dug into the ground, ready for oil, ca. 1910-1920. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-3618.
 Click or tap on image to view larger version.


A black and white photograph showing the bottom half of a large oil derrick in the foreground and multiple tall derricks in the background. Oil wells, undated. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-2152.

Oil wells, undated. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-2152.  Click or tap on image to view larger version.


 

A colorized postcard of oil derricks on the left, oil shooting out towards the right, a blue and pink sky and men and women dressed in dress clothes in the foreground. Postcard, oil gusher near Beaumont, ca. 1910-1920. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4119.

 

Postcard, oil gusher near Beaumont, ca. 1910-1920. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4119.
 Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.


 

A colorized photograph of field crowded with oil derricks with a pink and blue sky in the background. Postcard, view of Spindletop oil field, Beaumont, ca. 1910. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4120. 
Postcard, view of Spindletop oil field, Beaumont, ca. 1910. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4120. 
Click or tap on image to view larger version. 


 

A colorized postcard of the top of a factory with smoke coming out of chimneys and large pipes.Postcard, Oil refinery near Beaumont, ca. 1910-1920. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4121.

Postcard, Oil refinery near Beaumont, ca. 1910-1920. Colorized photograph. William Deming Hornaday photograph collection, 1975/70-4121.
 Click or tap on image to view larger version.

Next - Galveston Hurricane of 1900 -->

Extra! Extra! Eyes of the World on Texas Exhibit Pages:
Home | Death of a President in Dallas | Spindletop and the Texas Oil Boom | Galveston Hurricane of 1900 | Texas Tornadoes | Man on the Moon | UT Sniper | Texas City Disaster | New London School Explosion | Waco

Top of page

Lobby Exhibits Home

Page last modified: February 27, 2024