Texas Oil Boom
Encyclopedia
The Texas Oil Boom, sometimes called the Gusher Age, was a period of dramatic change and economic growth in U.S.
state of Texas
during the early 20th century that began with the discovery of a large petroleum reserve near Beaumont, Texas
. The find was unprecedented in its size and ushered in an age of rapid regional development
and industrialization that has few parallels in U.S. history. Texas quickly became one of the leading oil producing states in the U.S., along with Oklahoma
and California
; soon the nation overtook the Russian Empire
as the top producer of petroleum. By 1940 Texas had come to dominate U.S. production. Some historians even define the beginning of the world's Oil Age
as the beginning of this era in Texas.
The major petroleum strikes that began the rapid growth in petroleum exploration and speculation occurred in Southeast Texas
, but soon reserves were found across Texas and wells were constructed in North Texas
, East Texas
, and the Permian Basin in West Texas
. Although limited reserves of oil had been struck during the 19th century, the strike at Spindletop
near Beaumont in 1901 gained national attention, spurring exploration and development that continued through the 1920s and beyond. Spindletop and the Joiner strike in East Texas, at the outset of the Great Depression
, were the key strikes that launched this era of change in the state.
This period had a transformative effect on Texas. At the turn of the century, the state was predominantly rural with no large cities. By the end of World War II
, the state was heavily industrialized, and the populations of Texas cities had broken into the top 20 nationally. The city of Houston was among the greatest beneficiaries of the boom, and the Houston area
became home to the largest concentration of refineries
and petrochemical
plants in the world. The city grew from a small commercial center in 1900 to one of the largest cities in the United States during the decades following the era. This period, however, changed all of Texas' commercial centers and developed the Beaumont/Port Arthur
area, where the boom began.
H. Roy Cullen
, H. L. Hunt
, Sid W. Richardson
, and Clint Murchison
were the four most influential businessmen during this era. These men became among the wealthiest and most politically powerful in the state and the nation.
oil field in 1894. The Spindletop strike of 1901, at the time the world's most productive petroleum well ever found, is considered by most historians as the beginning point. This single discovery began a rapid pattern of change in Texas and brought worldwide attention to the state.
By the 1940s, the Texas Railroad Commission, which had been given regulatory control of the Texas oil industry, managed to stabilize American oil production and eliminate most of the wild price swings that were common during the earlier years of the boom. Many small towns, such as Wortham
, which had become boomtowns during the 1920s saw their booms end in the late 1920s and early 1930s as their local economies collapsed, resulting from their dependence on relatively limited petroleum reservoirs. As production peaked in some of these smaller fields and the Great Depression lowered demand, investors fled. In the major refining and manufacturing centers such as Beaumont, Houston, and Dallas, the boom continued to varying degrees until the end of World War II
. By the end of the war, the economies of the major urban areas of the state had matured. Though Texas continued to prosper and grow, the extreme growth patterns and dramatic socioeconomic changes of the earlier years largely subsided as the cities settled into more sustainable patterns of growth. Localized booms in West Texas and other areas, however, continued to transform some small communities during the post-war period.
Following the American Civil War
, Texas’s economy began to develop rapidly centered heavily on cattle ranching and cotton farming. Galveston
became the world's top cotton shipping port and Texas' largest commercial center. By 1890, however, Dallas
had exceeded Galveston's population, and in the early 1900s the Port of Houston
began to challenge Galveston's dominance.
In 1900 a massive hurricane struck Galveston, destroying much of the city. That and another storm in 1915 shifted much of the focus from investors away from Galveston and toward nearby Houston, which was seen as a safer location for commercial operations. Because of these events, the coming oil boom became heavily centered on the city of Houston both as a port and a commercial center.
from petroleum
was invented by Abraham Gesner. The demand for the petroleum as a fuel for lighting around the world quickly grew. Petroleum exploration developed in many parts of the world with the Russian Empire, particularly the Branobel
company in Azerbaijan
, taking the lead in production by the end of the 19th century.
In 1859, Edwin Drake
of Pennsylvania
invented a drilling process to extract oil from deep within the earth. Drake's invention is credited with giving birth to the oil industry in the U.S. The first oil refiner in the United States opened in 1861 in Western Pennsylvania, during the Pennsylvanian oil rush
. Standard Oil
, which had been founded by John D. Rockefeller
in Ohio, became a multi-state trust
and came to dominate the young oil industry in the U.S.
Texans knew of the oil that lay beneath the ground in the state for decades, but this was often seen more as a problem than a benefit because it hindered the digging of water wells. Rancher W. T. Waggoner, who later became an influential oil businessman, struck oil while drilling for water in 1902, and was quoted as saying "I wanted water, and they got me oil. I tell you I was mad, mad clean through. We needed water for ourselves and for our cattle to drink."
Despite the negative associations with oil among many ranchers and farmers, demand for kerosene and other petroleum derivatives drove oil prospecting in Texas after the American Civil War at known oil-producing springs and accidental finds while drilling for water. One of the first significant wells in Texas was developed near the town of Oil Springs, near Nacogdoches
. The site began production in 1866. The first oilfield in Texas with a substantial economic impact was developed in 1894 near Corsicana
. In 1898, the field built the state's first modern refinery. The success of the Corsicana field and increasing demand for oil worldwide led to more exploration around the state.
was granted the first patent on a reliable gasoline-powered engine in Germany. In 1885, he produced the first true gasoline automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen
. The new invention was quickly refined and gained popularity in Germany and France, and interest grew in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1902, Ransom Olds created the production line concept for mass producing lower-cost automobiles. Henry Ford
soon refined the concept so that by 1914, middle-class laborers could afford automobiles built by Ford Motor Company
.
Automobile production exploded in the U.S. and in other nations during the 1920s. This, and the increasing use of petroleum derivatives to power factories and industrial equipment, substantially increased worldwide demand for oil.
s near Beaumont
, a small enterprise known as the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company was joined in 1899 by Croatian/Austrian mechanical engineer Anthony F. Lucas
, an expert in salt domes. Lucas joined the company in response to the numerous ads the company’s founder Pattillo Higgins
placed in industrial magazines and trade journals. Lucas and his colleagues struggled for two years to find oil at a location known as Spindletop Hill before making a strike in 1901. The new well produced approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day, an unprecedented level of production at the time. The 1902 total annual production at Spindletop exceeded 17 million barrels. The state's total production in 1900 had been only 836,000 barrels. The overabundance of supply led oil prices in the U.S. to drop to a record low of 3 cents per barrel, less than the price of water in some areas.
Beaumont almost instantly became a boomtown with investors from around the state and the nation participating in land speculation. Investment in Texas speculation in 1901 reached approximately $235 million US (approximately $ in present day terms). The level of oil speculation in Pennsylvania and other areas of the United States was quickly surpassed by the speculation in Texas. The Lucas gusher itself was short-lived; production fell to 10,000 barrels per day by 1904. The strike, however, was only the beginning of a much larger trend.
took off with major oil fields opening at Sour Lake
in 1902, Batson
in 1903, Humble
in 1905, and Goose Creek
(modern Baytown
) in 1908. Pipelines and refineries were built throughout much of Southeast Texas, leading to substantial industrialization, particularly around Houston and the Galveston Bay
. The first offshore oilfield in the state opened in 1917 at Black Duck Bay on the Goose Creek field, although serious offshore exploration did not begin until the 1930s.
Initially, oil production was conducted by many small producers. The early exploration and production frenzy produced an unstable supply of oil, which often resulted in overproduction. In the early years, a few major finds led to easy availability and major drops in prices, but were followed by limited exploration and a sudden spike in prices as production dwindled. The situation led exploration to spread into the neighboring states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, who competed with Texas for dominance in oil production. The strike at Glenn Pool near Tulsa, Oklahoma
in 1905 established Tulsa as the leading U.S. oil production center until the 1930s. Though Texas soon lagged behind Oklahoma and California, it was still a major producer.
During the late 1910s and 1920s, oil exploration and production continued to expand and stabilize. Oil production became established in North Texas
, Central Texas
, the Panhandle
, and the Permian Basin in western Texas. The finds in North Texas, beginning with the 1917 strike in Ranger
west of Dallas-Fort Worth, were particularly significant, bringing substantial industrialization to the area. Texas soon became dominant as the nation's leading oil producer. By 1940, Texas production was twice that of California, the next largest U.S. producer.
In 1930, Columbus Marion Joiner
, a self-educated prospector, discovered the East Texas Oil Field
, the largest oil discovery that had ever been made. Because East Texas had not been significantly explored for oil before then, numerous independent prospectors, known as "wildcatter
s", were able to purchase tracts to exploit the new field. This new oil field helped to revive Dallas’s economy during the Great Depression, but sharply decreased interest in West Texas as the new supply led to another major drop in oil prices. The uncontrolled production in the eastern field destabilized the state's oil industry, which had been trying to control production levels to stabilize prices. Overproduction in East Texas was so great that then-governor Ross Sterling
attempted to shut down many of the wells. During one of the forced closures, he ordered the Texas National Guard
to enforce the shutdown. These efforts at controlling production, intended to protect both the independent operators and the major producers, were largely unsuccessful at first and led to widespread oil smuggling. In the later 1930s, the federal government intervened and brought production to sustainable levels, leading to a stabilization of price fluctuation. The income provided by the stabilization allowed less populated West Texas and the Panhandle to be more fully explored and exploited.
, a former manager for Standard Oil in Pennsylvania. His company, which was later absorbed by Magnolia Petroleum Company
and then acquired by Standard Oil of New York, built the first modern refinery west of the Mississippi River
. Following the strike at Spindletop, Cullinan partnered with Arnold Schlaet to form the Texas Fuel Company in Beaumont with funding from an investment group run by former Texas governor James S. Hogg and other investors. In 1905, as the new company rapidly expanded its operations, it moved its corporate headquarters to Houston. The company's strength in the oil industry established Houston as the center of the industry in Texas. The company was later absorbed into the Texas Company and then renamed Texaco
.
The interests in the Lucas operation at Spindletop were purchased by J. M. Guffey and his associates, creating the Guffey Petroleum Company and Gulf Refining Company of Texas. These companies later became Gulf Oil Corporation, which in turn was bought by Chevron
. Guffey's company became the largest oil producer in the state during the boom period.
Standard Oil
initially chose not to become directly involved in oil production in Texas, and instead formed Security Oil Company as a refining operation utilizing Guffey-Gulf and Texas Company as suppliers. Following state lawsuits related to anti-trust statutes
, Security Oil was reorganized into Magnolia Petroleum Company
in 1911. That same year, the Humble Oil Company (today Exxon Corporation) was formed by Ross Sterling and Walter William Fondren
in Humble, Texas
. The headquarters were moved to Houston, and the company eventually sold half of its shares to Standard Oil of New Jersey, establishing a long-term partnership that lasted for decades. The company built the Baytown Refinery
, which became Texas' largest refining operation. In the post-World War II period, Humble became the largest crude oil transporter in the United States, and built pipelines connecting Baytown to Dallas-Fort Worth and West Texas to the Gulf of Mexico
.
In spite of the few major operations, the first decade of the boom was dominated by numerous small producers. As production expanded and new companies were formed, consolidation occurred. By the late 1920s, ten companies produced more than half of the oil in the state: Gulf Production Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company, Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Company (later absorbed by Amoco
which was later absorbed by BP), the Texas Company, Shell Petroleum Corporation
, Yount-Lee Oil Company
, Magnolia Petroleum Company, J. K. Hughes Oil Company, Pure Oil Company, and Mid-Kansas Oil and Gas Company (later Marathon Oil
).
During the 1930s, a Dallas company known as the General American Finance System, struggling through the Great Depression, began to finance drilling operations in the state using oil reserves as collateral. This allowed Dallas to establish itself as the financing center for the oil industry. The Great American Finance System eventually reorganized itself as the General American Oil Company of Texas, which became an oil producer in its own right and, decades later, was purchased by Phillips Petroleum
.
At the start of the 20th century, agriculture, timber, and ranching were the leading economic engines of Texas. This was changed by the boom, which led to rapid industrialization. Though refineries were initially concentrated around the Beaumont and Houston areas, refining operations gradually grew throughout the state by the end of the 1920s. By 1940, the value of petroleum and natural gas produced in Texas exceeded the value of all agricultural products in the state.
The opening of Houston Ship Channel
in 1914 led to the Port of Houston
overtaking the Port of Galveston
as the state's dominant seaport. The situation led Houston to also overtake Galveston as the primary shipping center for cotton. The large quantities of oil and gas moving through Houston, Baytown, Texas City, and surrounding communities made the area around the ship channel attractive for industrial development. Chemical
plants, steel
factories, cement
plants, automobile manufacturing, and many other types of heavy industry that could benefit from a ready supply of cheap fuel rapidly developed in the area. By the 1930s, Houston had emerged as the state's dominant economic center, though it continued to compete with Dallas throughout the 1900s. The effects of the boom helped offset the effects of the Depression so much that Houston was called the "city the Depression forgot." Dallas and other Texas communities were also able to weather the Depression better than many American cities because of oil.
The boom in the oil industry also helped promote other industries in other areas of the state. Lumber production thrived as demand climbed for construction of railroads, refineries, and oil derricks, and, in 1907, Texas was the third largest lumber producer in the United States. Growing cities required many new homes and buildings, thus benefiting the construction industry. Agriculture
and ranching grew stronger as the rapidly expanding population created more demand for their produce.
The major commercial centers in the state grew tremendously during this period. The city of Houston grew by 555% between 1900 and 1930, reaching a population of 292,352. Other cities, from Beaumont to El Paso, saw similar growth rates. By contrast, New York City
grew by 101% and Detroit, where the automotive boom was occurring, grew by 485%.
The populations of many small Texas towns had even greater population increases when oil discoveries brought prospectors, investors, field laborers, and businessmen. Between 1920 and 1922, the town of Breckenridge
in rural North Texas grew from about 1,500 people to nearly 30,000. Between 1925 and 1929, the town of Odessa
in the Permian Basin grew from 750 to 5,000. Between 1924 and 1925, the town of Wortham
in northern Texas grew from 1,000 to about 30,000. The town of Kilgore
in eastern Texas grew from about 500 to 12,000 between 1930 and 1936 following the discovery of the East Texas field.
The growth for many towns was only temporary. Growth in some communities was often driven by exploitation of limited oil resources, so once wells ran dry or demand slowed, their populations rapidly declined. When Wortham's boom ended, the population crashed from its 1927 peak of 30,000 to 2,000 people in 1929. The population of Breckenridge dropped from a similar high to 7,569 in 1930.
One of the most significant demographic changes in the state was the percentage of urban dwellers. Between 1910 and 1930, the percentage of urban dwellers (those living in towns of greater than 2500 people) increased by 32%, resulting in 41% of Texans living in urban areas in 1930. World War II pushed the urban population over 50%.
The urban landscape of the cities changed dramatically during this period. The Praetorian Building in Dallas (1907) and the Amicable Life Insurance Company building in Waco
(1911) were among the first skyscrapers in Texas. The Peristein Building in Beaumont was the first skyscraper built as a direct result of the boom. Beaumont's downtown grew rapidly during the first decade after the 1901 strike. After a second major strike at Spindletop in 1925, Beaumont had the largest skyline of any city between Houston and New Orleans by the end of the decade.
Despite Beaumont's importance during the early boom period, the nearby and already-established commercial center of Houston became the leading city of the period. Houston’s status was boosted by the 1914 completion of the Houston Ship Channel, allowing the Port of Houston to service large ships. Refineries and related operations were built along the Houston Ship Channel between Houston and Goose Creek. Heavy industry grew in the area and gradually created one of the world's largest industrial complexes
. By the 1930s, Houston emerged as the state's largest city and the hub of the rail and road network. The effects of the petroleum-related growth helped offset the effects of the Depression substantially, particularly after the discovery of the East Texas field. Texans who became wealthy from the boom established upscale communities including River Oaks, which became a model for community planning in the U.S. Oil-related growth led to the creation of many new institutions, including the University of Houston
, the Museum of Fine Arts, Hermann Park
, the Houston Zoo
, and the Houston Symphony Orchestra
.
Dallas and Fort Worth experienced one of their greatest oil-related construction booms during 1930 and 1931, when the opening of the East Texas oil field helped establish Dallas as the financial center for the oil industry in Texas and Oklahoma. New business offices and municipal buildings appeared in the city, including the Highland Park Village
shopping center, one of the nation's earliest shopping mall
s. The Depression slowed population growth in the Dallas area somewhat during the later 1930s, but rapid growth patterns returned again during the 1940s. By this time, though, Dallas had already begun to rediversify, becoming a center for aircraft manufacturing and electronics technology in addition to a variety of other industries.
Cheap gasoline encouraged automobile ownership, which provided a substantial revenue source to the government, leading to the rapid expansion of highway development. Despite the state's geographical size and its rural nature at the turn of the century, the state's road systems developed to a level comparable to the more established industrial areas of the United States.
consisted of a small number of crude buildings near Austin
. Oil speculation on university land in western Texas led to the creation of the Santa Rita oil well, giving the University of Texas, and later Texas A&M University
, access to a major source of revenue and leading the university to become among the wealthiest in the United States. Other universities in the state, especially the University of Houston
, were also able to benefit from state-owned oil production and donations from wealthy oil investors, fueling substantial growth and development in their campuses.
Primary and secondary education improved as well, though the extreme growth in the new boomtowns initially caused severe strain on school systems unprepared for the rapid influx of students. Even as money was rapidly flowing in the communities, obtaining tax revenue efficiently where it was needed was often complex. Communities dealt with these problems by establishing independent school district
s, education districts formed independently of city or county government with their own independent taxing authority. This type of school district is still the standard in Texas today.
One of the most significant developments in Texan government resulted from the creation of a state oil production tax in 1905. The revenue generated by the tax made funds available for development in the state without the need for income taxes and similar revenue mechanisms adopted in other states. In 1919, tax revenue from oil production surpassed $1 million dollars ($ in today's terms) and in 1929 it reached $6 million ($ in today's terms). By 1940, the oil and gas industry accounted for approximately half of all taxes paid in the state.
Politics in Texas during the early 1900s was defined by a spirit of Progressivism
. Oil money funded the expansion of the highway system and the educational system. In general, however, the attitude toward business was laissez-faire
. There were few regulations on issues such as minimum wages and child labor.
The permissive attitude toward business did not always extend toward large corporations. A lack of venture capital
in the state became a significant problem with the early industry. Civic and business leaders, and even ordinary citizens, worried that the influx of capital from outside the state would lead to a loss of political power, revenue, and business opportunities. This sentiment led to a series of antitrust
lawsuits by the state Attorney General
starting in 1906. The lawsuits easily succeeded and limited the ability of outside investors, most notably Standard Oil
, to gain control of the state oil companies.
The mistrust of Standard Oil
was partially the result of a suspicion toward carpetbaggers, which ironically was also the source of skepticism regarding labor unions. Union organizers were frequently seen as attempting to support a Northern
agenda of promoting opportunities for African American
s at the expense of the white population. Because of the situation this created, labor reform was slow to develop. Despite the anti-union sentiments, groups like the International Oil Workers Union attracted membership and held some influence in the industry and state government.
The possibility of becoming wealthy from oil created a "wildcatter" culture in many areas of the state. Independent entrepreneurs chased dreams of wealth by purchasing land and equipment to find oil. Ranchers and farmers, from both inside and outside of the state, turned to prospecting. The Oil and Gas Journal once published the following remark.
Houston pioneered American car culture in the early 1900s thanks to the ready availability of inexpensive gasoline. By the 1920s traffic congestion had become so serious that the city became the first in the nation to install interconnected traffic lights. Visitors to the city were often astonished at the lack of pedestrian access to shopping venues and the importance of the automobile within the city. Efforts aimed at promoting mass transit and urban planning were largely defeated in Houston because of opposition by the public, which favored free enterprise and disdained big government. Urban concepts pioneered in Houston, like establishing shopping centers outside the city's core and encouraging suburban sprawl, became major trends adopted in many cities, both within the state and around the country.
Another indirect effect of the boom was the growth of gambling and prostitution in many communities. These activities had not been uncommon in Texas before the boom, but the wealth brought by the oil industry, as well as difficulties in enhancing the laws and the law enforcement agencies, created many new opportunities for illegal businesses and organized crime
. Many communities developed casino and red-light district
s, including the gaming empire
in Galveston
, which attracted wealthy businessmen from Houston. Some of these districts operated until 1950s. Prostitution, which had always been present in the state, flourished in the boom towns, which were crowded with single men earning relatively high wages. The onset of Prohibition
and the state government's reluctance to enforce vice laws only encouraged the growth of gambling and bootlegging during this period.
The rapid social changes during this period, especially the 1920s, led to the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan
in the urban centers of Texas, with their strongest presence in Dallas. As in other states, the new Klan was not outwardly focused on suppression of black civil rights, but instead supported traditional morality including opposition to bootlegging, gambling, and other vices that had grown during the period. Bigotry, though, was never far from the group's agenda. During the Depression, anti-New Deal
sentiments among some leaders, such as John Kirby
, led to their becoming loosely associated with the Klan and its ideals.
The petroleum industry influenced long-term trends in Texas and American culture. Conservative views among the early business leaders in Texas led them to help finance the emergence of the modern Christian right
and the American conservative movement.
lands in the state.
Industrial activities, which had little regulation, created substantial air pollution. The practice of burning off gas pockets
in new oil fields was common, thus increasing the problem. As the Houston area came to be the most heavily industrialized area in the state, it accumulated the most serious air quality issues. By the 1950s, airline pilots were able to follow lines of haze in the air into the city.
Another serious effect created by the oil-related industries has been the pollution around the Houston Ship Channel and in Galveston Bay. By the 1970s, these waterways were among the most polluted waters in the United States. Though industrial sources were major sources of pollution, urbanization around the bay also contributed significantly to pollution levels. In recent decades, most of the pollution in the bay is the result of storm run-off from various smaller commercial, agricultural, and residential sources, as opposed to the major industrial complexes. Conservation efforts in the mid to late 20th century by area industries and municipalities have helped to dramatically improve water quality in the bay reversing at least some of the earlier damage to the ecosystem.
During the 1960s and 1970s, as a result of both production peaks in some nations and political instability in others, the world's supply of petroleum tightened leading to an energy crisis
during the 1970s and early 1980s. Petroleum prices rose dramatically, greatly benefiting Texas, particularly as compared to other parts of the U.S. that faced recession during this time. A new economic boom emerged which, though not as transformative as the early 1900s, pushed the population of Texas to the point that, by the end of the century, Texas was the second most populous state in the nation. Some sources, in fact, use the phrase Texas Oil Boom to refer to this later period rather than the earlier period that followed Spindletop.
, H. L. Hunt
, Sid W. Richardson
, and Clint Murchison
. Cullen was a self-educated cotton and real-estate businessman who moved to Houston in 1918 and soon began oil prospecting. Cullen's success led to his founding the South Texas Petroleum Company (with partner Jim West Sr.
) and Quintana Oil Company. Cullen and his wife established the Cullen Foundation, which became one of the largest charitable organizations in the state, and donated heavily to the University of Houston
, the Texas Medical Center
, and numerous other causes in Texas, particularly in the Houston area.
Hunt’s first successes were in the oilfields of Arkansas
, but he lost most of his fortune by the outset of the Depression as overproduction depleted his fields and his speculation on land and oil drained his resources. He joined in Columbus Joiner's venture which opened the East Texas Oil Field. Hunt bought most of Joiner's interests in eastern Texas and his company, Placid Oil, owned hundreds of wells. He became established in Dallas and was labeled the richest man in the nation in 1948 by Fortune Magazine. A scandal emerged in 1975, after his death, when it was discovered that he had had a hidden bigamous
relationship, with his second wife living in New York.
Richardson was a cattle trader who established an independent oil production business in Fort Worth in 1919. He soon expanded into numerous businesses and owned the Texas City Refining Company, cattle ranches, radio and television networks, among other businesses. He was a very private man who was sometimes referred to as the "bachelor billionaire." Murchison, who began his career at his father's bank, soon became an oil lease trader working with Richardson. He expanded into exploration and production in northern Texas, then around San Antonio, and finally the Dallas area. He went on to create the Southern Union Gas Company and became a developer on the East Texas field. He expanded his business into international oil and gas operations in Canada and Australia. His son Clint Jr. went on to form the Dallas Cowboys
football franchise. For their part, Murchison and Richardson were known to have been major national political operatives and had close ties to President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and his vice president Richard M. Nixon, as well as FBI
chief J. Edgar Hoover
and President Lyndon B. Johnson
.
was a modest oil worker who pioneered wells around what the Houston area. In 1932, he struck oil at Anahuac
near the Galveston Bay
. Over the next decade, he made dozens of other strikes and quickly became one of Texas' richest men. His extravagance was legendary leading to his becoming $52 million dollars in debt in 1952 ($ in present day terms). His love of bourbon
led him to establish the WildCatter bourbon label. His excesses made him an unwilling national celebrity during the 1940s and 1950s as the media became enamored with tales of Texas oil wealth.
Jim West Jr.
was the heir to the fortune of Jim West Sr., an early Houston businessman who helped shape the city and the state before the boom and during the early years of the boom. Known as "Silver Dollar Jim", for his habit of carrying silver dollars and tossing them to doormen, the poor, and anyone that waited on him, West Jr. is regarded by many as the most flamboyant of Houston oilmen. His lavish spending habits and his proclivity for amateur law enforcement were well known. Using his many cars, which were kept loaded with weapons, sirens, and radios, he regularly chased criminals in Houston alongside the police.
s and cattle
.
By the late 1940s, the national media
began to report the extreme wealth of some Texans in magazines such as Life and Fortune. A stereotype
emerged of the nouveau-riche Texas oil millionaire, popularized by the media. The popular image often was characterized by a rough and combative personality, heavy drinking, and extravagant spending. In 1956, the motion picture Giant helped to crystallize the image of Texans in the popular imagination as comical, eccentric figures. Glenn McCarthy was the inspiration for the character of Jett Rink in the film. Other films such as Boom Town
and War of the Wildcats, and books such as The Lusty Texans of Dallas and Houston: Land of the Big Rich, also contributed to public perceptions of oil's influence in Texas and surrounding states.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during the early 20th century that began with the discovery of a large petroleum reserve near Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. The find was unprecedented in its size and ushered in an age of rapid regional development
Oil boom
An oil boom is a boom in the oil producing sector of an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economical benefits, in term of increased GDP growth, but might later lead to a resource curse.-Consequences:...
and industrialization that has few parallels in U.S. history. Texas quickly became one of the leading oil producing states in the U.S., along with Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; soon the nation overtook the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as the top producer of petroleum. By 1940 Texas had come to dominate U.S. production. Some historians even define the beginning of the world's Oil Age
Oil Age
The Age of Oil, also known as the Oil Age or the Petroleum Age, refers to the era in human history characterised by an increased use of petroleum in products and as fuel. Though unrefined petroleum has been used for various purposes since ancient times, it was during the 19th century that...
as the beginning of this era in Texas.
The major petroleum strikes that began the rapid growth in petroleum exploration and speculation occurred in Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered around the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas...
, but soon reserves were found across Texas and wells were constructed in North Texas
North Texas
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
, East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
, and the Permian Basin in West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
. Although limited reserves of oil had been struck during the 19th century, the strike at Spindletop
Spindletop
Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...
near Beaumont in 1901 gained national attention, spurring exploration and development that continued through the 1920s and beyond. Spindletop and the Joiner strike in East Texas, at the outset of the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
, were the key strikes that launched this era of change in the state.
This period had a transformative effect on Texas. At the turn of the century, the state was predominantly rural with no large cities. By the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the state was heavily industrialized, and the populations of Texas cities had broken into the top 20 nationally. The city of Houston was among the greatest beneficiaries of the boom, and the Houston area
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
became home to the largest concentration of refineries
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
and petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
plants in the world. The city grew from a small commercial center in 1900 to one of the largest cities in the United States during the decades following the era. This period, however, changed all of Texas' commercial centers and developed the Beaumont/Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
area, where the boom began.
H. Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry, was a large supporter of the University of Houston, and longtime chairman of the board of regents for the university...
, H. L. Hunt
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. , known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was a Texas oil tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very...
, Sid W. Richardson
Sid W. Richardson
Sid Williams Richardson was a Texas oilman, cattleman, and philanthropist known for his association with the city of Fort Worth....
, and Clint Murchison
Clint Murchison, Sr.
Clinton Williams Murchison, Sr. , was a noted Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, Jr..-Personal:...
were the four most influential businessmen during this era. These men became among the wealthiest and most politically powerful in the state and the nation.
Timeframe
There are several events in the 19th century that have been treated as a beginning for oil-related growth in Texas, one of the earliest being the opening of the CorsicanaCorsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
oil field in 1894. The Spindletop strike of 1901, at the time the world's most productive petroleum well ever found, is considered by most historians as the beginning point. This single discovery began a rapid pattern of change in Texas and brought worldwide attention to the state.
By the 1940s, the Texas Railroad Commission, which had been given regulatory control of the Texas oil industry, managed to stabilize American oil production and eliminate most of the wild price swings that were common during the earlier years of the boom. Many small towns, such as 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...
, which had become boomtowns during the 1920s saw their booms end in the late 1920s and early 1930s as their local economies collapsed, resulting from their dependence on relatively limited petroleum reservoirs. As production peaked in some of these smaller fields and the Great Depression lowered demand, investors fled. In the major refining and manufacturing centers such as Beaumont, Houston, and Dallas, the boom continued to varying degrees until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. By the end of the war, the economies of the major urban areas of the state had matured. Though Texas continued to prosper and grow, the extreme growth patterns and dramatic socioeconomic changes of the earlier years largely subsided as the cities settled into more sustainable patterns of growth. Localized booms in West Texas and other areas, however, continued to transform some small communities during the post-war period.
Post-Civil War Texas
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Texas’s economy began to develop rapidly centered heavily on cattle ranching and cotton farming. Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
became the world's top cotton shipping port and Texas' largest commercial center. By 1890, however, Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
had exceeded Galveston's population, and in the early 1900s the Port of Houston
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...
began to challenge Galveston's dominance.
In 1900 a massive hurricane struck Galveston, destroying much of the city. That and another storm in 1915 shifted much of the focus from investors away from Galveston and toward nearby Houston, which was seen as a safer location for commercial operations. Because of these events, the coming oil boom became heavily centered on the city of Houston both as a port and a commercial center.
Early history of petroleum
In the 1850s, the process to distill keroseneKerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
from petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
was invented by Abraham Gesner. The demand for the petroleum as a fuel for lighting around the world quickly grew. Petroleum exploration developed in many parts of the world with the Russian Empire, particularly the Branobel
Branobel
The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited,or Branobel , was an oil company set up by Ludvig Nobel and Baron Peter von Bilderling, in Baku, Azerbaijan...
company in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, taking the lead in production by the end of the 19th century.
In 1859, Edwin Drake
Edwin Drake
Edwin Laurentine Drake , also known as Colonel Drake, was an American oil driller, popularly credited with being the first to drill for oil in the United States.-Early life:...
of 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...
invented a drilling process to extract oil from deep within the earth. Drake's invention is credited with giving birth to the oil industry in the U.S. The first oil refiner in the United States opened in 1861 in Western Pennsylvania, during the Pennsylvanian oil rush
Pennsylvanian oil rush
The Pennsylvanian oil rush was a "boom" in petroleum production which occurred in northwestern Pennsylvania from 1859 to about 1870. It was the first oil boom in the United States....
. Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, which had been founded by John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
in Ohio, became a multi-state trust
Trust (19th century)
A special trust or business trust is a business entity formed with intent to monopolize business, to restrain trade, or to fix prices. Trusts gained economic power in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some, but not all, were organized as trusts in the legal sense...
and came to dominate the young oil industry in the U.S.
Texans knew of the oil that lay beneath the ground in the state for decades, but this was often seen more as a problem than a benefit because it hindered the digging of water wells. Rancher W. T. Waggoner, who later became an influential oil businessman, struck oil while drilling for water in 1902, and was quoted as saying "I wanted water, and they got me oil. I tell you I was mad, mad clean through. We needed water for ourselves and for our cattle to drink."
Despite the negative associations with oil among many ranchers and farmers, demand for kerosene and other petroleum derivatives drove oil prospecting in Texas after the American Civil War at known oil-producing springs and accidental finds while drilling for water. One of the first significant wells in Texas was developed near the town of Oil Springs, near Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
. The site began production in 1866. The first oilfield in Texas with a substantial economic impact was developed in 1894 near Corsicana
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
. In 1898, the field built the state's first modern refinery. The success of the Corsicana field and increasing demand for oil worldwide led to more exploration around the state.
Mechanization
In 1879, Karl BenzKarl Benz
Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and car engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered car, and together with Bertha Benz pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz...
was granted the first patent on a reliable gasoline-powered engine in Germany. In 1885, he produced the first true gasoline automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen
Benz Patent Motorwagen
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen , built in 1886, is widely regarded as the first automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by a motor...
. The new invention was quickly refined and gained popularity in Germany and France, and interest grew in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1902, Ransom Olds created the production line concept for mass producing lower-cost automobiles. Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
soon refined the concept so that by 1914, middle-class laborers could afford automobiles built by Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
.
Automobile production exploded in the U.S. and in other nations during the 1920s. This, and the increasing use of petroleum derivatives to power factories and industrial equipment, substantially increased worldwide demand for oil.
Spindletop
After years of failed attempts to extract oil from the salt domeSalt dome
A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when a thick bed of evaporite minerals found at depth intrudes vertically into surrounding rock strata, forming a diapir....
s near Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, a small enterprise known as the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company was joined in 1899 by Croatian/Austrian mechanical engineer Anthony F. Lucas
Anthony Francis Lucas
Anthony Francis Lucas was a Croatian-born oil explorer. With Pattillo Higgins he organized the drilling of an oil well near Beaumont, Texas that became known as Spindletop...
, an expert in salt domes. Lucas joined the company in response to the numerous ads the company’s founder Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins was a businessman as well as a self-taught geologist. He earned the nickname the "Prophet of Spindletop" for his endeavors in the oil business, which accrued a fortune for many...
placed in industrial magazines and trade journals. Lucas and his colleagues struggled for two years to find oil at a location known as Spindletop Hill before making a strike in 1901. The new well produced approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day, an unprecedented level of production at the time. The 1902 total annual production at Spindletop exceeded 17 million barrels. The state's total production in 1900 had been only 836,000 barrels. The overabundance of supply led oil prices in the U.S. to drop to a record low of 3 cents per barrel, less than the price of water in some areas.
Beaumont almost instantly became a boomtown with investors from around the state and the nation participating in land speculation. Investment in Texas speculation in 1901 reached approximately $235 million US (approximately $ in present day terms). The level of oil speculation in Pennsylvania and other areas of the United States was quickly surpassed by the speculation in Texas. The Lucas gusher itself was short-lived; production fell to 10,000 barrels per day by 1904. The strike, however, was only the beginning of a much larger trend.
Discoveries spread
Exploration of salt domes across the plains of the Texas Gulf CoastGulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
took off with major oil fields opening at Sour Lake
Sour Lake, Texas
Sour Lake is a city in Hardin County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,813 at the 2010 census. It was originally named Sour Lake Springs, after the mineral-laden spring water that flowed into the nearby lake. The city is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical...
in 1902, Batson
Batson, Texas
Batson is an unincorporated community located on State Highway 105 in southwestern Hardin County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in 1903, Humble
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
in 1905, and Goose Creek
Goose Creek Oil Field
The Goose Creek Oil Field is a large oil field in Baytown, Texas, on Galveston Bay. Discovered in 1903, and reaching maximum production in 1918 after a series of spectacular gushers, it was one of the fields which contributed to the Texas Oil Boom of the early 20th century...
(modern Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
) in 1908. Pipelines and refineries were built throughout much of Southeast Texas, leading to substantial industrialization, particularly around Houston and the Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...
. The first offshore oilfield in the state opened in 1917 at Black Duck Bay on the Goose Creek field, although serious offshore exploration did not begin until the 1930s.
Initially, oil production was conducted by many small producers. The early exploration and production frenzy produced an unstable supply of oil, which often resulted in overproduction. In the early years, a few major finds led to easy availability and major drops in prices, but were followed by limited exploration and a sudden spike in prices as production dwindled. The situation led exploration to spread into the neighboring states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, who competed with Texas for dominance in oil production. The strike at Glenn Pool near Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
in 1905 established Tulsa as the leading U.S. oil production center until the 1930s. Though Texas soon lagged behind Oklahoma and California, it was still a major producer.
During the late 1910s and 1920s, oil exploration and production continued to expand and stabilize. Oil production became established in North Texas
North Texas
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
, Central Texas
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
, the Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
, and the Permian Basin in western Texas. The finds in North Texas, beginning with the 1917 strike in Ranger
Ranger, Texas
Ranger is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,584 at the 2000 census. Ranger College, a community college, is the second largest employer in the community....
west of Dallas-Fort Worth, were particularly significant, bringing substantial industrialization to the area. Texas soon became dominant as the nation's leading oil producer. By 1940, Texas production was twice that of California, the next largest U.S. producer.
In 1930, Columbus Marion Joiner
Columbus Marion Joiner
Columbus Marion Joiner was an American oilman. With A.D. Lloyd, a self-educated, self-proclaimed geologist, he discovered the largest oil field in the world up to that time, the East Texas oil field, in 1930 in Rusk County.-External links:*...
, a self-educated prospector, discovered the East Texas Oil Field
East Texas oil field
The East Texas Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in east Texas. Covering and parts of five counties, and having 30,340 historic and active oil wells, it is the largest oil field in the United States outside of Alaska, both in extent and in total volume of oil recovered since its discovery in...
, the largest oil discovery that had ever been made. Because East Texas had not been significantly explored for oil before then, numerous independent prospectors, known as "wildcatter
Wildcatter
A wildcatter is an American term for a person who drills wildcat wells, which are oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. A wildcatter notable for his success was Texan oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy....
s", were able to purchase tracts to exploit the new field. This new oil field helped to revive Dallas’s economy during the Great Depression, but sharply decreased interest in West Texas as the new supply led to another major drop in oil prices. The uncontrolled production in the eastern field destabilized the state's oil industry, which had been trying to control production levels to stabilize prices. Overproduction in East Texas was so great that then-governor Ross Sterling
Ross S. Sterling
Ross Shaw Sterling was a U.S. political figure who was the 31st Governor of Texas, having served a single two-year term between January 20, 1931, and January 17, 1933....
attempted to shut down many of the wells. During one of the forced closures, he ordered the Texas National Guard
Texas National Guard
The Texas National Guard consists of the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Texas. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state...
to enforce the shutdown. These efforts at controlling production, intended to protect both the independent operators and the major producers, were largely unsuccessful at first and led to widespread oil smuggling. In the later 1930s, the federal government intervened and brought production to sustainable levels, leading to a stabilization of price fluctuation. The income provided by the stabilization allowed less populated West Texas and the Panhandle to be more fully explored and exploited.
Emergence of an industry
The first refining operations at Corsicana were built by Joseph S. CullinanJoseph S. Cullinan
Joseph Stephen Cullinan was a U.S. oil industrialist. Although he was a native of Pennsylvania, his lifetime business endeavors would help shape the early oil industry of Texas...
, a former manager for Standard Oil in Pennsylvania. His company, which was later absorbed by Magnolia Petroleum Company
Magnolia Petroleum Company
The Magnolia Petroleum Company was an early twentieth century petroleum company in Texas and was founded on April 24, 1911 as a consolidation of several earlier companies. Standard Oil of New York exchanged its stock for all of the Magnolia stock in December 1925 though it continued to operate as...
and then acquired by Standard Oil of New York, built the first modern refinery west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Following the strike at Spindletop, Cullinan partnered with Arnold Schlaet to form the Texas Fuel Company in Beaumont with funding from an investment group run by former Texas governor James S. Hogg and other investors. In 1905, as the new company rapidly expanded its operations, it moved its corporate headquarters to Houston. The company's strength in the oil industry established Houston as the center of the industry in Texas. The company was later absorbed into the Texas Company and then renamed Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
.
The interests in the Lucas operation at Spindletop were purchased by J. M. Guffey and his associates, creating the Guffey Petroleum Company and Gulf Refining Company of Texas. These companies later became Gulf Oil Corporation, which in turn was bought by Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
. Guffey's company became the largest oil producer in the state during the boom period.
Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
initially chose not to become directly involved in oil production in Texas, and instead formed Security Oil Company as a refining operation utilizing Guffey-Gulf and Texas Company as suppliers. Following state lawsuits related to anti-trust statutes
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
, Security Oil was reorganized into Magnolia Petroleum Company
Magnolia Petroleum Company
The Magnolia Petroleum Company was an early twentieth century petroleum company in Texas and was founded on April 24, 1911 as a consolidation of several earlier companies. Standard Oil of New York exchanged its stock for all of the Magnolia stock in December 1925 though it continued to operate as...
in 1911. That same year, the Humble Oil Company (today Exxon Corporation) was formed by Ross Sterling and Walter William Fondren
Walter Fondren, Sr.
Walter William Fondren, Sr. was an American oil operator and philanthropist.Fondren, alongside Ross S. Sterling and others, founded Humble Oil.-External links:*...
in Humble, Texas
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
. The headquarters were moved to Houston, and the company eventually sold half of its shares to Standard Oil of New Jersey, establishing a long-term partnership that lasted for decades. The company built the Baytown Refinery
Baytown Refinery
ExxonMobil's Baytown Refinery in Baytown, Texas is the largest oil refinery in the United States, with an input capacity of per day as of June 1, 2010. The site first opened in 1919 and was originally operated by the Humble Oil Company. Today, it is the largest employer in the city...
, which became Texas' largest refining operation. In the post-World War II period, Humble became the largest crude oil transporter in the United States, and built pipelines connecting Baytown to Dallas-Fort Worth and West Texas to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
In spite of the few major operations, the first decade of the boom was dominated by numerous small producers. As production expanded and new companies were formed, consolidation occurred. By the late 1920s, ten companies produced more than half of the oil in the state: Gulf Production Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company, Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Company (later absorbed by Amoco
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
which was later absorbed by BP), the Texas Company, Shell Petroleum Corporation
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, Yount-Lee Oil Company
Yount-Lee Oil Company
The Yount-Lee Oil Company, founded in 1914, was the successor to the Yount-Rothwell Oil Company which had been formed earlier by Miles Franklin Yount and Talbot Frederick Rothwell. Yount headed up the new enterprise and counted among his partners Thomas Peter Lee, William Ellsworth Lee, Emerson...
, Magnolia Petroleum Company, J. K. Hughes Oil Company, Pure Oil Company, and Mid-Kansas Oil and Gas Company (later Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Canada. Principal development activities are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway,...
).
During the 1930s, a Dallas company known as the General American Finance System, struggling through the Great Depression, began to finance drilling operations in the state using oil reserves as collateral. This allowed Dallas to establish itself as the financing center for the oil industry. The Great American Finance System eventually reorganized itself as the General American Oil Company of Texas, which became an oil producer in its own right and, decades later, was purchased by Phillips Petroleum
Phillips Petroleum
Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch....
.
Economy
The opening of Houston Ship Channel
Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel, located in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston—one of the United States's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between the Houston-area shipyards and the Gulf of Mexico.-Overview:...
in 1914 led to the Port of Houston
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...
overtaking the Port of Galveston
Port of Galveston
The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico...
as the state's dominant seaport. The situation led Houston to also overtake Galveston as the primary shipping center for cotton. The large quantities of oil and gas moving through Houston, Baytown, Texas City, and surrounding communities made the area around the ship channel attractive for industrial development. Chemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
plants, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
factories, cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
plants, automobile manufacturing, and many other types of heavy industry that could benefit from a ready supply of cheap fuel rapidly developed in the area. By the 1930s, Houston had emerged as the state's dominant economic center, though it continued to compete with Dallas throughout the 1900s. The effects of the boom helped offset the effects of the Depression so much that Houston was called the "city the Depression forgot." Dallas and other Texas communities were also able to weather the Depression better than many American cities because of oil.
The boom in the oil industry also helped promote other industries in other areas of the state. Lumber production thrived as demand climbed for construction of railroads, refineries, and oil derricks, and, in 1907, Texas was the third largest lumber producer in the United States. Growing cities required many new homes and buildings, thus benefiting the construction industry. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and ranching grew stronger as the rapidly expanding population created more demand for their produce.
Demographics
| City | Percent growth (1900–1930) | 1930 population |
|---|---|---|
| Beaumont | 512% | 57,732 |
| Houston | 555% | 292,352 |
| Dallas | 511% | 260,475 |
| Fort Worth | 504% | 163,447 |
| El Paso | 578% | 102,421 |
The major commercial centers in the state grew tremendously during this period. The city of Houston grew by 555% between 1900 and 1930, reaching a population of 292,352. Other cities, from Beaumont to El Paso, saw similar growth rates. By contrast, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
grew by 101% and Detroit, where the automotive boom was occurring, grew by 485%.
The populations of many small Texas towns had even greater population increases when oil discoveries brought prospectors, investors, field laborers, and businessmen. Between 1920 and 1922, the town of Breckenridge
Breckenridge, Texas
Breckenridge is a city in Stephens County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,868 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stephens County...
in rural North Texas grew from about 1,500 people to nearly 30,000. Between 1925 and 1929, the town of Odessa
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
in the Permian Basin grew from 750 to 5,000. Between 1924 and 1925, the town of 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...
in northern Texas grew from 1,000 to about 30,000. The town of Kilgore
Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk Counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the home of Kilgore College, and was also the childhood home of famous classical pianist Van Cliburn...
in eastern Texas grew from about 500 to 12,000 between 1930 and 1936 following the discovery of the East Texas field.
The growth for many towns was only temporary. Growth in some communities was often driven by exploitation of limited oil resources, so once wells ran dry or demand slowed, their populations rapidly declined. When Wortham's boom ended, the population crashed from its 1927 peak of 30,000 to 2,000 people in 1929. The population of Breckenridge dropped from a similar high to 7,569 in 1930.
One of the most significant demographic changes in the state was the percentage of urban dwellers. Between 1910 and 1930, the percentage of urban dwellers (those living in towns of greater than 2500 people) increased by 32%, resulting in 41% of Texans living in urban areas in 1930. World War II pushed the urban population over 50%.
Urban development
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
(1911) were among the first skyscrapers in Texas. The Peristein Building in Beaumont was the first skyscraper built as a direct result of the boom. Beaumont's downtown grew rapidly during the first decade after the 1901 strike. After a second major strike at Spindletop in 1925, Beaumont had the largest skyline of any city between Houston and New Orleans by the end of the decade.
Despite Beaumont's importance during the early boom period, the nearby and already-established commercial center of Houston became the leading city of the period. Houston’s status was boosted by the 1914 completion of the Houston Ship Channel, allowing the Port of Houston to service large ships. Refineries and related operations were built along the Houston Ship Channel between Houston and Goose Creek. Heavy industry grew in the area and gradually created one of the world's largest industrial complexes
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
. By the 1930s, Houston emerged as the state's largest city and the hub of the rail and road network. The effects of the petroleum-related growth helped offset the effects of the Depression substantially, particularly after the discovery of the East Texas field. Texans who became wealthy from the boom established upscale communities including River Oaks, which became a model for community planning in the U.S. Oil-related growth led to the creation of many new institutions, including the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, the Museum of Fine Arts, Hermann Park
Hermann Park
Hermann Park is one of Houston's most-visited public parks. Situated between Fannin Street and Cambridge Street, it is within walking distance from the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, and the Museum District, and within a few miles of the Third Ward, the historic Astrodome and Reliant Stadium...
, the Houston Zoo
Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo is a zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. Housing over 6,000 animals belonging to over 900 species, the zoo receives 1.6 million visitors each year and is the seventh most visited zoo in the nation...
, and the Houston Symphony Orchestra
Houston Symphony Orchestra
The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....
.
Dallas and Fort Worth experienced one of their greatest oil-related construction booms during 1930 and 1931, when the opening of the East Texas oil field helped establish Dallas as the financial center for the oil industry in Texas and Oklahoma. New business offices and municipal buildings appeared in the city, including the Highland Park Village
Highland Park Village
Highland Park Village is an upscale shopping mall located at the southwest corner of Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road in Highland Park, Texas and was the first self-contained shopping center in America. The Highland Park Village was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000.-History:Mr....
shopping center, one of the nation's earliest shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s. The Depression slowed population growth in the Dallas area somewhat during the later 1930s, but rapid growth patterns returned again during the 1940s. By this time, though, Dallas had already begun to rediversify, becoming a center for aircraft manufacturing and electronics technology in addition to a variety of other industries.
Cheap gasoline encouraged automobile ownership, which provided a substantial revenue source to the government, leading to the rapid expansion of highway development. Despite the state's geographical size and its rural nature at the turn of the century, the state's road systems developed to a level comparable to the more established industrial areas of the United States.
Education
The university system in Texas improved dramatically because of the boom. Before the boom, the University of TexasUniversity of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
consisted of a small number of crude buildings near Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Oil speculation on university land in western Texas led to the creation of the Santa Rita oil well, giving the University of Texas, and later Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, access to a major source of revenue and leading the university to become among the wealthiest in the United States. Other universities in the state, especially the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, were also able to benefit from state-owned oil production and donations from wealthy oil investors, fueling substantial growth and development in their campuses.
Primary and secondary education improved as well, though the extreme growth in the new boomtowns initially caused severe strain on school systems unprepared for the rapid influx of students. Even as money was rapidly flowing in the communities, obtaining tax revenue efficiently where it was needed was often complex. Communities dealt with these problems by establishing independent school district
Independent school district
An independent school district is a type of school district in the United States for primary and secondary education, which operates as an entity that is independent and separate from any municipality, county, or state...
s, education districts formed independently of city or county government with their own independent taxing authority. This type of school district is still the standard in Texas today.
Government and politics
Politics in Texas during the early 1900s was defined by a spirit of Progressivism
Progressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
. Oil money funded the expansion of the highway system and the educational system. In general, however, the attitude toward business was laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
. There were few regulations on issues such as minimum wages and child labor.
The permissive attitude toward business did not always extend toward large corporations. A lack of venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
in the state became a significant problem with the early industry. Civic and business leaders, and even ordinary citizens, worried that the influx of capital from outside the state would lead to a loss of political power, revenue, and business opportunities. This sentiment led to a series of antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
lawsuits by the state Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
starting in 1906. The lawsuits easily succeeded and limited the ability of outside investors, most notably Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, to gain control of the state oil companies.
The mistrust of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
was partially the result of a suspicion toward carpetbaggers, which ironically was also the source of skepticism regarding labor unions. Union organizers were frequently seen as attempting to support a Northern
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
agenda of promoting opportunities for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s at the expense of the white population. Because of the situation this created, labor reform was slow to develop. Despite the anti-union sentiments, groups like the International Oil Workers Union attracted membership and held some influence in the industry and state government.
Culture
An enduring theme during and after the oil boom has been a reluctance among Texans to relinquish their identity and a stubbornness in maintaining their cultural heritage in the face of drastic changes to the state brought by the sudden wealth. Despite its growth and industrialization, Texas culture in the mid-20th century remained distinct from the other industrial centers of the nation.The possibility of becoming wealthy from oil created a "wildcatter" culture in many areas of the state. Independent entrepreneurs chased dreams of wealth by purchasing land and equipment to find oil. Ranchers and farmers, from both inside and outside of the state, turned to prospecting. The Oil and Gas Journal once published the following remark.
Houston pioneered American car culture in the early 1900s thanks to the ready availability of inexpensive gasoline. By the 1920s traffic congestion had become so serious that the city became the first in the nation to install interconnected traffic lights. Visitors to the city were often astonished at the lack of pedestrian access to shopping venues and the importance of the automobile within the city. Efforts aimed at promoting mass transit and urban planning were largely defeated in Houston because of opposition by the public, which favored free enterprise and disdained big government. Urban concepts pioneered in Houston, like establishing shopping centers outside the city's core and encouraging suburban sprawl, became major trends adopted in many cities, both within the state and around the country.
Another indirect effect of the boom was the growth of gambling and prostitution in many communities. These activities had not been uncommon in Texas before the boom, but the wealth brought by the oil industry, as well as difficulties in enhancing the laws and the law enforcement agencies, created many new opportunities for illegal businesses and organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. Many communities developed casino and red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
s, including the gaming empire
Free State of Galveston
The Free State of Galveston was a whimsical name given to the island city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the early-to-mid-20th century. Today, the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era...
in Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, which attracted wealthy businessmen from Houston. Some of these districts operated until 1950s. Prostitution, which had always been present in the state, flourished in the boom towns, which were crowded with single men earning relatively high wages. The onset of Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
and the state government's reluctance to enforce vice laws only encouraged the growth of gambling and bootlegging during this period.
The rapid social changes during this period, especially the 1920s, led to the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
in the urban centers of Texas, with their strongest presence in Dallas. As in other states, the new Klan was not outwardly focused on suppression of black civil rights, but instead supported traditional morality including opposition to bootlegging, gambling, and other vices that had grown during the period. Bigotry, though, was never far from the group's agenda. During the Depression, anti-New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
sentiments among some leaders, such as John Kirby
John Henry Kirby
John Henry Kirby was a businessman whose ventures made him arguably the largest lumber manufacturer in Texas and the Southern United States. In addition to serving two terms in the Texas Legislature, he would also establish the Kirby Petroleum Company...
, led to their becoming loosely associated with the Klan and its ideals.
The petroleum industry influenced long-term trends in Texas and American culture. Conservative views among the early business leaders in Texas led them to help finance the emergence of the modern Christian right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
and the American conservative movement.
Environment
Although from the outset of the oil boom there were efforts at conservation and protection of the environment, they generally enjoyed little success. Because of the ease of finding oil in the early decades, wells were often not fully developed before prospectors began looking for more productive wells. The wildcatters not only wasted the valuable resource, but created avoidable environmental contamination with the numerous oil strikes. The rush to extract oil frequently led to the construction of poor storage facilities where leaks were common and water pollution became a serious issue. After heavy logging during the 19th century, the clearing of fields for oil exploration and the demand for lumber to be used in new construction destroyed most of the remaining forestForest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
lands in the state.
Industrial activities, which had little regulation, created substantial air pollution. The practice of burning off gas pockets
Gas flare
A gas flare, alternatively known as a flare stack, is an elevated vertical conveyance found accompanying the presence of oil wells, gas wells, rigs, refineries, chemical plants, natural gas plants, and landfills....
in new oil fields was common, thus increasing the problem. As the Houston area came to be the most heavily industrialized area in the state, it accumulated the most serious air quality issues. By the 1950s, airline pilots were able to follow lines of haze in the air into the city.
Another serious effect created by the oil-related industries has been the pollution around the Houston Ship Channel and in Galveston Bay. By the 1970s, these waterways were among the most polluted waters in the United States. Though industrial sources were major sources of pollution, urbanization around the bay also contributed significantly to pollution levels. In recent decades, most of the pollution in the bay is the result of storm run-off from various smaller commercial, agricultural, and residential sources, as opposed to the major industrial complexes. Conservation efforts in the mid to late 20th century by area industries and municipalities have helped to dramatically improve water quality in the bay reversing at least some of the earlier damage to the ecosystem.
After the gushers
By the 1940s, production in the East Texas Oil Field and oil prices stabilized. Though the major urban areas continued to grow, the extreme growth patterns of the first three decades began to slow. As western Texas and the panhandle region began to be more fully explored, the Permian Basin gradually became the top producing area of the state. Though independent oil companies were still an important part of the industry for some time, the major new strikes were increasingly made by established companies. World War II helped complete the state's transition to an industrialized and urbanized state with oil facilitating the transition.During the 1960s and 1970s, as a result of both production peaks in some nations and political instability in others, the world's supply of petroleum tightened leading to an energy crisis
1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
during the 1970s and early 1980s. Petroleum prices rose dramatically, greatly benefiting Texas, particularly as compared to other parts of the U.S. that faced recession during this time. A new economic boom emerged which, though not as transformative as the early 1900s, pushed the population of Texas to the point that, by the end of the century, Texas was the second most populous state in the nation. Some sources, in fact, use the phrase Texas Oil Boom to refer to this later period rather than the earlier period that followed Spindletop.
The big four
Four businessmen were emblematic of the 1920s and 30s boom years — H. Roy CullenHugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry, was a large supporter of the University of Houston, and longtime chairman of the board of regents for the university...
, H. L. Hunt
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. , known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was a Texas oil tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very...
, Sid W. Richardson
Sid W. Richardson
Sid Williams Richardson was a Texas oilman, cattleman, and philanthropist known for his association with the city of Fort Worth....
, and Clint Murchison
Clint Murchison, Sr.
Clinton Williams Murchison, Sr. , was a noted Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, Jr..-Personal:...
. Cullen was a self-educated cotton and real-estate businessman who moved to Houston in 1918 and soon began oil prospecting. Cullen's success led to his founding the South Texas Petroleum Company (with partner Jim West Sr.
James Marion West Sr.
James Marion West Sr. was a wealthy Houston, Texas businessman who substantially influenced the city's development during the early 20th century....
) and Quintana Oil Company. Cullen and his wife established the Cullen Foundation, which became one of the largest charitable organizations in the state, and donated heavily to the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, the Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research...
, and numerous other causes in Texas, particularly in the Houston area.
Hunt’s first successes were in the oilfields of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, but he lost most of his fortune by the outset of the Depression as overproduction depleted his fields and his speculation on land and oil drained his resources. He joined in Columbus Joiner's venture which opened the East Texas Oil Field. Hunt bought most of Joiner's interests in eastern Texas and his company, Placid Oil, owned hundreds of wells. He became established in Dallas and was labeled the richest man in the nation in 1948 by Fortune Magazine. A scandal emerged in 1975, after his death, when it was discovered that he had had a hidden bigamous
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
relationship, with his second wife living in New York.
Richardson was a cattle trader who established an independent oil production business in Fort Worth in 1919. He soon expanded into numerous businesses and owned the Texas City Refining Company, cattle ranches, radio and television networks, among other businesses. He was a very private man who was sometimes referred to as the "bachelor billionaire." Murchison, who began his career at his father's bank, soon became an oil lease trader working with Richardson. He expanded into exploration and production in northern Texas, then around San Antonio, and finally the Dallas area. He went on to create the Southern Union Gas Company and became a developer on the East Texas field. He expanded his business into international oil and gas operations in Canada and Australia. His son Clint Jr. went on to form the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
football franchise. For their part, Murchison and Richardson were known to have been major national political operatives and had close ties to President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and his vice president Richard M. Nixon, as well as FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
chief J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
and President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
.
Other icons
Other wealthy Texans involved in the oil industry, though not as influential, became well known, often as much for their eccentricities as their wealth. Glenn McCarthyGlenn McCarthy
Glenn Herbert McCarthy was a wildcatter and a charismatic oil tycoon. The media often referred to him as "Diamond Glenn" and "The King of the Wildcatters". McCarthy was an oil prospector and entrepreneur who owned many businesses in various sectors of the economy...
was a modest oil worker who pioneered wells around what the Houston area. In 1932, he struck oil at Anahuac
Anahuac, Texas
Anahuac is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population of the city was 2,210 at the 2000 census. Anahuac is the seat of Chambers County and is situated in East Texas.- History :...
near the Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...
. Over the next decade, he made dozens of other strikes and quickly became one of Texas' richest men. His extravagance was legendary leading to his becoming $52 million dollars in debt in 1952 ($ in present day terms). His love of bourbon
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
led him to establish the WildCatter bourbon label. His excesses made him an unwilling national celebrity during the 1940s and 1950s as the media became enamored with tales of Texas oil wealth.
Jim West Jr.
James Marion West Jr.
James Marion West Jr. was a Texas oilman. He was the son of James Marion West Sr., the businessman who created the West family fortune. He was nicknamed "Silver Dollar Jim", because of his habit of throwing silver dollar coins toward passersby on the street...
was the heir to the fortune of Jim West Sr., an early Houston businessman who helped shape the city and the state before the boom and during the early years of the boom. Known as "Silver Dollar Jim", for his habit of carrying silver dollars and tossing them to doormen, the poor, and anyone that waited on him, West Jr. is regarded by many as the most flamboyant of Houston oilmen. His lavish spending habits and his proclivity for amateur law enforcement were well known. Using his many cars, which were kept loaded with weapons, sirens, and radios, he regularly chased criminals in Houston alongside the police.
In popular culture
Though the general public of the United States was aware of oil production in Texas, the wealth that it generated in the state for the first three decades after Spindletop was largely unknown. Of the four most prominent oil businessmen in Texas at the end of World War II — Murchison, Cullen, Richardson, and Hunt — only three articles about them appeared in the New York Times during their lifetime, despite their philanthropy and influence in Washington D.C. Stereotypes about Texas in the American imagination generally revolved around cowboyCowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
.
By the late 1940s, the national media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
began to report the extreme wealth of some Texans in magazines such as Life and Fortune. A stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
emerged of the nouveau-riche Texas oil millionaire, popularized by the media. The popular image often was characterized by a rough and combative personality, heavy drinking, and extravagant spending. In 1956, the motion picture Giant helped to crystallize the image of Texans in the popular imagination as comical, eccentric figures. Glenn McCarthy was the inspiration for the character of Jett Rink in the film. Other films such as Boom Town
Boom Town (film)
Boom Town is a 1940 adventure drama Hollywood film starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, and Frank Morgan. A story written by James Edward Grant in Cosmopolitan magazine titled "A Lady Comes to Burkburnett" provided the inspiration for the film.-Plot:"Big John"...
and War of the Wildcats, and books such as The Lusty Texans of Dallas and Houston: Land of the Big Rich, also contributed to public perceptions of oil's influence in Texas and surrounding states.
See also
- Energy in the United States
- History of the petroleum industry in the United States
- History of petroleumHistory of petroleumPetroleum, in one form or another, is not a recent discovery but is now an important part of politics, society, and technology. The invention of the internal combustion engine was the major influence in the rise in the importance of petroleum.-Early history:...
- Hydrocarbon exploration
- List of oil fields
- Oil and gas law in the United StatesOil and gas law in the United StatesOil and gas law in the United States is the branch of law that pertains to the acquisition and ownership rights in oil and gas both under the soil before discovery and after its capture, and adjudication regarding those rights.- Overview :...
- Oil reserves in the United StatesOil reserves in the United StatesProven oil reserves in the United States are , excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The U.S. Department of the Interior estimates the total volume of undiscovered, technically recoverable prospective resources in all areas of the United States, including the Federal Outer Continental Shelf,...
- United States oil politics
- Other similar events in North American history:
- California Gold RushCalifornia Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
- Indiana Gas BoomIndiana Gas BoomThe Indiana Gas Boom was a period of active drilling and production of natural gas in the Trenton Gas Field, in the US state of Indiana and the adjacent northwest part of Ohio The boom began in the early 1880s and lasted into the early twentieth century....
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- Ohio Oil RushOhio Oil RushThe Ohio oil rush was a 19th century petroleum boom in the southeast Ohio, United States. The boom started in 1860 in Macksburg, Ohio. Blacksmith William Jeffrey made a similar hit in Mecca Township, northeast of Warren. Crude oil production climbed year after year, especially after major oil...
- Pennsylvanian oil rushPennsylvanian oil rushThe Pennsylvanian oil rush was a "boom" in petroleum production which occurred in northwestern Pennsylvania from 1859 to about 1870. It was the first oil boom in the United States....