The Spindletop Gusher

Sarah B. Wilson

Texas Christian University

 The Spindletop Gusher

Introduction

Texas is known by many as the Lone Star state; for its famous barbeque, enormous size,

and hot temperature. What about oil? A huge part of Texas history is its economic oil boom, a

section of history largely credited to an event taking place in small Beaumont, Texas best known

as the Spindletop Gusher. The compelling question one must ask is, how did the Spindletop

gusher change Texas as a whole? To investigate this compelling question, we must dive deeper

into the events that led up to the discovery of oil at Spindletop, how the discovery of oil created a

new industry in Texas, and how this new industry contributed to an even wider scale of

industries in Texas.

What Events Led to the Discovery of Oil at Spindletop?

At the start of the 20th century, subsistence agriculture dominated the Texas economy.

However, Southeast Texas had a relatively new resource forming, this was oil. The amount of oil

under the Southeast Texas grounds was still largely unknown until 1901 when the discovery of

oil at Spindletop by Anthony F. Lucas paved the way for the modern petroleum industry. The

Spindletop Hill oilfield, located in the city of Beaumont, Texas, was a large salt top formation,

formed from pressurized underground salt. This type of formation created a promise of oil

discoveries for many miners. Pattillo Higgins was the first to suspect that oil might be lurking

under Spindletop Hill. As stated by Wooster & Sanders in the Handbook of Texas article (2019),

“the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company, formed in August 1892 by George W.

O'Brien, George W. Carroll, Pattillo Higgins, Emma E. John, and J. F. Lanier, was the first

company to drill on Spindletop Hill. Three shallow attempts, beginning in 1893 and using cable-
tool drilling equipment were unsuccessful” (para. 1). After these failed attempts, Anthony F.

Lucas of Australia took charge in the drilling at Spindletop in 1899 with the help of Al and Curt

Hammil. On January 10, 1901, after fighting through numerous rock layers, Lucas and the

Hammils hit oil. The Lucas Geyser, as it was later named, shot oil over 100 feet high until the

team was able to cap it over a week later. Leading up to this historical event, many miners had

suspected the salt dome formation at Spindletop would hold oil, there were even attempts and

failures, but it was ultimately the Gladys City Oil Company whose name was forever

remembered with this historical event. This event became the largest oil gusher the world has

seen until that time, making not only Texas history, but world history.

How Did the Discovery of Oil at Spindletop Create a New Industry in Texas?

In an article from The Evening Star Newspaper in 1951, the oil discovery at Spindletop

was described as “a starting gun in the great race where thousands of oil companies tried to

outdo each other in producing more efficient, less expensive, fuel for the newly developed

automobile and oil burner” (para 2). Many of these competing companies are internationally

known corporations such as Texaco, Gulf Oil Corporation, Sun Oil Company, Magnolia

Petroleum Company, and Humble (Exxon). At the time of the oil discoveries at Spindletop, the

nation was in a period of economic recovery following the Industrial Revolution, and the

demand for fossil fuels that were more convenient than coal was high. This event led to a large

population increase in Beaumont, Texas, and the tapping for more oil filled salt dome formations

exponentially grew by day. Land was selling at such high rates, companies were dropping

billions of dollars on these Texas lands. Pipelines, storage facilities, and major refineries sprung

up all around Spindletop providing employment for Texans, and an economic boom in the state.
Gasoline prices dropped so significantly with the surplus of oil from Spindletop, that it

revolutionized the growing American transportation industry. As put by Michael T. Halbouty of

Beaumont, Texas in his book ‘Spindletop: The True Story of the Oil Discovery That Changed

the World’ (1952), Spindletop “revived the industrial revolution, which had been dead for a

while. It caused the United States to become a world power. It revolutionized transportation

through the automobile industry. It started the Liquid Fuel Age, the greatest age in the history of

the world." It can be seen that the discovery of oil at Spindletop not only flourished Texas’

involvement in the modern petroleum industry, but contributed to the United States becoming a

world leader in fossil fuels.

How was the oil industry related to transportation, agriculture and other industries in

Texas?

Oil, a sparse fossil fuel, fuels so many aspects of many American’s daily life: propel

vehicles, heat buildings, produce electricity, and much more. The discovery of a surplus amount

of cheap oil led to an increase in many industries beyond just the oil industry, including but not

limited to transportation and agriculture. The sure amount of cheap oil encouraged its use as fuel

for transportation. One of the earliest changes was the shift from coal to oil railroads, followed

by steamships, and automobiles. This huge drop in gas prices created an increase in the amount

of people owning automobiles growing the automobile industry and leading to many of the

modern automobile corporations internationally known today.

It must be mentioned that the development of large corporations did have a negative

effect on the smaller family farms in Texas as they became absorbed and displaced. These sorts

of displacements created a multiplication of urban areas in Texas, as people flocked in search of

jobs. Those farmers that were able to develop major corporations greatly developed with the

increase in oil. An example of this is found in the 2001 Texas Almanac written by Mary G.

Ramos. It is described by Ramos: “mechanization of farm work increased quickly, enabling

farmers to produce more food with fewer people. Manufacturing plants developed in the

formerly agricultural state, using cheap oil as fuel.” (para. 28) Texas’ primarily agricultural led

economy continued to bloom alongside the new oil industry, making Texas a very attractive state

for many Americans in search of work. This event led to a quick and evident increase in the

population of Texas, a characteristic of Texas remaining today.

Conclusion

Through this report, the discussion of what happened at Spindletop, the event’s effects on

Texas, and the contributions to numerous industries. All of these discussions add to the

compelling discovery that the oil discovery at Spindletop over 100 years ago most certainly

changed Texas. Today the cars we are driving, the heat that fills our homes, and even the ability

to fly across the world on airplanes can all be attributed to the Lucas Geyser at Spindletop Hill.

These changes whether seen as positive or negative changed daily life for Americans and are still

in many ways visible today.

 References

Clark, J. A., & Halbouty, M. T. (2001). Spindletop. Houston, TX: Gulf Pub.

Moor, C., & Robert. (2010, June 15). Spindletop oilfield. Retrieved from

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dos03

Ramos, M. G. (2017, November 29). Oil and texas: a cultural history. Retrieved from

https://texasalmanac.com/topics/business/oil-and-texas-cultural-history

Spindletop- where a january morning changed your way of life. (1951, January 21).

Evening Star, pp. 5–5. Retrieved from

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1951-01-21/ed-1/seq-

98/#date1=1789&index=0&rows=20&words=SPINDLETOP+Spindletop&search

Type=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=spindletop&y=0&x=0

&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

The Chance of a Lifetime. (1901, April 23). Houston daily post, pp. 14–14. Retrieved from

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86071197/1901-04-23/ed-1/seq-14/