The Powell oil field was an oil field

Oil field

An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...

 developed in eastern Navarro County, Texas in 1923.

Encouraged by nearby discoveries in Mexia

Mexia, Texas

Mexia is a city in Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,552 at the 2008 census.The city's motto, based on the fact that outsiders tend to mispronounce the name , is "A great place, no matter how you pronounce it."...

 and Wortham

Wortham, Texas

Wortham is a town in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,082 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wortham is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land...

, the Corsicana Deep Well Company announced plans to drill for oil in the Powell

Powell, Texas

Powell is a town in Navarro County, Texas, United States. The population was 105 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Powell is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....

 area in the June 9, 1919 issue of the Corsicana Daily Sun

Corsicana Daily Sun

The Corsicana Daily Sun is a morning daily newspaper published in Corsicana, Texas, covering Navarro County. In 2009 it dropped Saturday and Monday from its publication schedule and is now published five days a week. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.The newspaper's marketing slogan...

. However the drilling effort yielded a dry hole and was abandoned six months later.

A second attempt also failed. Finally, on January 7, 1923, now more than three years from the announcement, oil was found.

By July 14, 17 wells were in operation. Seven more came in on a single day, August 1, 1923. Soon the Powell field was pumping more oil than the combined oil production of the day in the states of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, and West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

.

The Powell oil field produced wealth and tragedy in great proportions. On May 10, 1923, a spark ignited the derrick

Derrick

A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. It is controlled by lines powered by some means such as man-hauling or motors, so that the pole can move in all four directions. A line runs up it and over its top with a hook on...

floor. The fire caused 13 men to die from horrible burns.

At peak production the Powell field boasted more than 500 pumping wells and produced some 354000 barrels (56,281.5 m³) of oil per day.

By the late 1920s the Powell field had been pumped dry and was abandoned.