Texas and the Oil Industry

Beaumont is credited with the discovery of oil in Texas. The problem is that it was discovered sooner in Texas and elsewhere prior to the "gusher" in Beaumont. Sour Lake in 1867 produced 200 barrels before sand clogged the well. As far back as 1866, oil was being produced in east Texas. The use of oil and methods used to find it and extract it were preventing early drilling from success. In the hundred and thirty years since then, the industry has dominated Texas culture and made Texas synonymous with oil drilling.

If some is good, more is better. This has been the country's view as well as the Texas view. When high finance and plentiful supply were gained, the economy and the politics quickly changed in Texas. Prior to Beaumont, the rail road commission was the top dog politically in Texas. Although oil had been found prior to the "gusher" in Beaumont, it was this highly publicized discovery that began the boom. "Black Gold" as it was referred to, began to dominate the government policies as well as the economy. Texas would never be the same. Since then there have been thousands and thousands of wells dug and billions of dollars made. While Beaumont was the most dramatic find, the Corsicana oil field was producing 830,000 barrels annually by 1900. It was this development that gave drilling contractors the experience needed for the massive "boom" to come.

Oil drilling and refining has without a doubt shaped Texas more than any single industrial development. With the use of off-shore technology and the close proximity to coastal waters, the Texas Oil industry has had a decades long influence in the state. While a majority of crude oil is still imported, it is still Texas crude oil that will be remembered as starting it all off.