View source for Spindletop

{{Short description|Oil field in southern Texas, United States}}
{{For|the rural neighborhood in Kentucky|Spindletop, Lexington}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name           = Spindle

| nrhp_type      = nhl
| image          = Lucas gusher.jpg
| caption        = The [[Anthony Francis Lucas|Lucas]] gusher at Spindletop, January 10, 1901: This was the first major [[Blowout (well drilling)|gusher]] of the [[Texas oil boom]].
|alt=Black-and-white photograph of an oil gusher derrick with a gusher of oil shooting from the top
| location       = 3 mi south of [[Beaumont, Texas]] on Spindletop Ave.
| coordinates    = {{coord|30|1|12|N|94|4|31|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin       = Texas#USA
| map_label      = Lucas Gusher, Spindletop Oil Field
| locmap_relief  = no
| built          = {{Start date|1901}}
| designated_nrhp_type = November 13, 1966
| added          = November 13, 1966
| area = {{convert|1130.4|acre}}
| refnum         = 66000818<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref>
}}
{{multiple image
|image1 = Gulf Coast oil fields.jpg
|image2 = Spindletop oil leases.jpg
|footer = Gulf Coast oil fields (left) and Spindletop oil lease map (right)
|total_width = 700
}}
'''Spindletop''' is an [[oil field]] located in the southern portion of [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]], [[Texas]], in the [[United States]]. The Spindletop dome was derived from the [[Louann Salt]] [[evaporite]] layer of the [[Jurassic]] geologic period.<ref>Hyne, Norman J., ''Nontechnical guide to petroleum geology, exploration, drilling, and production,'' Pennwell Books, 2nd ed. p. 193 {{ISBN|978-0-87814-823-3}}</ref> On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck [[oil]] ("came in"). The Spindletop [[Oil gusher|gusher]] blew for 9 days at a rate estimated at {{convert|100000|oilbbl|m3}} of oil per day.<ref name="HOT: Spindletop">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Spindletop Oilfield | id=dos03 | author=Wooster, Robert; Sanders, Christine Moor | retrieved=October 18, 2009}}, Texas State Historical Association</ref> [[Gulf Oil]] and [[Texaco]], now part of [[Chevron Corporation]], were formed to develop production at Spindletop.<ref>Daniel Yergin, ''The Prize'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, pp. 75–78.</ref> The Spindletop discovery led the United States into the oil age. Prior to Spindletop, oil was primarily used for lighting and as a lubricant. Because of the quantity of oil discovered, burning [[petroleum]] as a [[fuel]] for mass consumption suddenly became economically feasible.

The frenzy of [[oil exploration]] and the economic development it generated in the state became known as the [[Texas oil boom]]. The United States soon became the world's leading oil producer.

__TOC__<!--force Table of Contents -->

==History==
[[Pattillo Higgins]] sought a source of natural gas for his brickyard and envisioned producing oil and gas from Sour Spring Mound, convinced it was an [[anticline]].  The eventual oil field would be called Spindletop, after a hill one mile to the east, and four miles south of Beaumont.  The hill had the appearance of a [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]] due to trees on its hilltop (''cimas de boneteros'', "tops of spindle-trees").  The mound was famous for its [[gas seepage|gas seeps]], which Higgins lit for his Baptist Sunday school class. In August 1892, George W. O'Brien, George W. Carroll, Pattillo Higgins, and J.F. Lanier formed the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company to do exploratory drilling. The company tried drilling two test wells, but ran into trouble trying to penetrate below {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}}, encountering a [[quicksand]]-like [[formation (geology)|formation]].  Higgins quit the venture in 1896.<ref name=oo>{{cite book |last1=Olien |first1=Diana |last2=Olien |first2=Roger |title=Oil in Texas, The Gusher Age, 1895–1945 |date=2002 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |isbn=0292760566 |pages=25–32}}</ref><ref name=dy>{{cite book |last1=Yergin |first1=Daniel |title=The Prize, The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power |date=1991 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0671799328 |pages=82–86}}</ref><ref name=jl>{{cite book |last1=Linsley |first1=Judith |last2=Rienstrad |first2=Ellen |last3=Stiles |first3=Jo |title=Giant Under the Hill, A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas in 1901 |date=2002 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin |isbn=978-0876112366 |pages=13–19, 23–52, 132}}</ref>

Pattillo Higgins then teamed with Captain [[Anthony Francis Lucas|Anthony F. Lucas]], the leading expert in the U.S. on [[Salt dome|salt-dome]] formations. Lucas made a lease agreement in 1899 with the Gladys City Company and a subsequent agreement with Higgins. Lucas drilled to {{Convert|575|ft|m|-1}} before running out of money. He secured additional funding from John H. Galey, [[James M. Guffey]], and [[Andrew Mellon]] of [[Pittsburgh]], and the Guffey Petroleum Company was formed. Yet, the deal left Lucas with only an eighth share, and Higgins with nothing.<ref>Daniel Yergin, ''The Prize'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p. 75.</ref><ref name=jl/>{{rp|76–77, 147, 186}}<ref name=oo/>{{rp|29}}

Lucas and Galey employed the Hamill brothers for the drilling, while Galey picked the well site on land leased from the Beaumont Pasture Company.  This tract of land was near the top of Sour Spring Mound.  The well was spudded on 27 October 1900.  At {{convert|160|ft|m|-1}}, they hit the quicksands that had stopped earlier efforts.  A solution consisted of driving an eight-inch [[casing (borehole)|casing]] pipe through the sand over the next 20 days, with a four-inch "wash pipe" to flush out the sand from the bottom of the hole with water.  At around {{convert|250|ft|m|-1}}, Lucas improvised a check valve to prevent the increased gas pressure from forcing sand into the casing, enabling them to reach a depth of {{convert|445|ft|m|-1}}, and past the {{convert|285|ft|m|-1|adj=on}} thick quicksand formation.  At a depth of {{convert|645|ft|m|-1}}, they adopted eighteen-hour shifts for continuous operations, drilling during the day, and keeping circulation going at night, to prevent a gas [[blowout (well drilling)|blowout]].  In early December, they hit a pocket of coarse water sand, when they adopted another innovation, mixing mud into the water which prevented the "heavier" water from dissipating into the sand.  This [[drilling mud]] stabilized the hole, and soon they were drilling into a clay formation called gumbo.  At {{convert|800|ft|m|-1}} they reached [[limestone]], and on 9 December, oil started showing up in the slush pit.  The oil was coming from a {{convert|35|ft|m|-1|adj=on}} thick oil sand at a depth of {{convert|870|ft|m|-1}}.  Yet, that oil sand was too soft and fine to develop at that time, and Caroline Lucas convinced Galey to continue drilling to {{convert|1200|ft|m|-1}}, per contract.  On Christmas Eve, they landed six-inch pipe below the sand at {{convert|880|ft|m|-1}}, then enjoyed the holiday, returning New Year's Day.  They hit another gas pocket, which forced water and mud out of the hole for ten minutes.  Then, at {{convert|960|ft|m|-1}}, they reached a [[sulphur]] layer, followed by more layers of limestone.  On 10 January, they needed to replace the dull fishtail drill bit.  While lowering the pipe down the hole, they only got to about 35 joints of pipe, or about {{convert|700|ft|m|-1}}, before a low rumble sent mud, and then drill stem out of the hole.  This was followed by silence, an explosion of more mud and gas, more silence, a flow of oil, and then a loud roar.  On January 10, 1901, at a depth of 1,139&nbsp;ft (347 m), what is known as the Lucas Gusher or the Lucas Geyser blew oil over {{convert|150|ft|m|-1}} in the air at a rate of {{convert|100000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}} (4,200,000 gallons).  Nine days passed before the well was brought under control using a [[Christmas tree (oil well)|Christmas Tree]] devised by the Hamills.<ref name="HOT: Spindletop"/><ref name=jl/>{{rp|78–81, 89, 93–110}}<ref name=oo/>{{rp|29–31}}

By late June, there were 13 gushers on Spindletop.  These included those by David R. Beatty on 26 March, the Heywood Brothers Oil Company, two more from the J.M. Guffey Company, and the Higgins Oil and Fuel Company on 18 April.<ref name=jl/>{{rp|129–132}} Then in July 1901, the [[Jim Hogg|Hogg]]-Swayne Syndicate leased 15 acres from J.M. Guffey.<ref name=oo/>{{rp|33}}

Spindletop was the largest [[Oil gusher|gusher]] the world had seen and catapulted Beaumont into an oil-fueled [[boomtown (geography)|boomtown]].  Beaumont's population of 10,000 tripled in 3 months and eventually rose to 50,000.<ref>Daniel Yergin, ''The Prize'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p. 69.</ref>  Speculation led land prices to increase rapidly. By the end of 1902, more than 500&nbsp;companies had been formed and 285&nbsp;wells were in operation.<ref name="HOT: Spindletop"/>

Spindletop produced 17,420,949 barrels of oil in 1902, but only half that much in 1903 as production declined.  Yet Spindletop inspired [[wildcatting]] along the [[Gulf Coastal Plain]].  Significant salt dome oil fields included [[Sour Lake]] and [[Saratoga, Texas|Saratoga]] in 1902, [[Batson, Texas| Batson Prairie]] in 1903, the [[Humble, Texas|Humble oil field]] in 1905, and the [[Goose Creek Oil Field]] in 1908.<ref name=oo/>{{rp|41–43}}<ref name=jl/>{{rp|159–160}}

[[Standard Oil]], which then had a monopoly or near-monopoly on the petroleum industry in the eastern states, was prevented from moving aggressively into the new oilfield by state antitrust laws. Populist sentiment against Standard Oil was particularly strong at the time of the Spindletop discovery. In 1900, an oil-products marketing company affiliated with Standard Oil had been banned from the state for its cutthroat business practices. Although Standard built refineries in the area, it was unable to dominate the new Gulf Coast oil fields the way it had in the eastern states.  As a result, a number of startup oil companies at Spindletop, such as [[Texaco]] and [[Gulf Oil]], grew into formidable competitors to Standard Oil.<ref>Ron Chernow, ''Titan: the Life of John D. Rockefeller''. New York: Random House, 1998). p. 431.</ref>

Production at Spindletop began to decline rapidly after 1902, and the wells produced only {{convert|10000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}} by 1904.<ref name="HOT: Spindletop"/> Unfortunately the developers had signed a 20-year contract to sell 25,000 barrels per day at $0.25 per barrel to [[Shell Oil]]. When the price climbed above $0.35 per barrel, the operation was stressed and Mellon who had lent money for Spindle Top's development took control of the company, won a lawsuit allowing Mellon to renege on the contract, and in 1907, created [[Gulf Oil]]. On November 14, 1925,  the [[Yount-Lee Oil Company]] brought in its McFaddin No. 2 at a depth around {{convert|2500|ft|m|-2}}, sparking a second boom, which culminated in the field's peak production year of 1927, during which 21&nbsp;million barrels (3.3 GL) were produced.<ref name="HOT: Spindletop"/><ref name=oo/>{{rp|128}}   Spindletop continued as a productive source of oil until about 1936. Stripper wells continue producing to this day. It was then mined for sulfur from the 1950s to about 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lamar.edu/spindletop-gladys-city/spindletop-history.html |title=Spindletop History |date=Dec 12, 2015 |website=Lamar University |access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum==
{{main|Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum}}
{{multiple image
|image1 = The Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum.jpg
|image2 = Spindletop Park.jpg
|footer = Left-The Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum. Right-Spindletop Park, the actual location of the famous well.  This obscure park is 1.5 miles from Gladys City where the Spindletop marker, monument & museum are located.
|total_width = 440
}}

[[File:A replica of the Lucas Spindletop Gusher.jpg|thumb|A replica of the Lucas Spindletop Gusher that gushes water on occasion]]
In 1976, [[Lamar University]] dedicated the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum to preserve the history of the Spindletop oil gusher era in Beaumont. The museum features an oil derrick and many reconstructed Gladys City building interiors furnished with authentic artifacts from the Spindletop boomtown period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lamar.edu/spindletop-gladys-city/index.html|title=Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum|website=Lamar.edu}}</ref>

The Lucas Gusher Monument is located at the museum. The monument, erected at the wellhead in July, 1941, was moved to the Spindletop-Gladys City Museum after it became unstable due to ground subsidence.  According to an article by Nedra Foster, LS in the July/August, 2000 issue of the ''Professional Surveyor Magazine,'' the monument was originally located within 4&nbsp;ft of the site of the Spindletop well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.xyht.com/category/magazine/|title=Magazine Archives|website=xyHt|date=September 2024 }}</ref>

Today, the wellhead is marked at Spindletop Park by a flagpole flying the Texas flag. It is located about 1.5 miles south of the museum, off West Port Arthur Road/Spur 93.  The site includes a viewing platform with information placards, about a quarter-mile from the flagpole. The wellhead site is in the middle of swampland on private land and is not accessible.  Directions to the park and viewing platform are available at the museum.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Texas]]
*[[Salt dome]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
*McKinley, Fred B., and Greg Riley.  ''Black Gold to Bluegrass: From the Oil Fields of Texas to [[spindletop Hall|Spindletop Farm]] of Kentucky,'' historical non-fiction, Austin: Eakin Press, 2005, {{ISBN|1-4241-7751-0}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.spindletop.org/ Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum]
*{{Handbook of Texas|id=dos03|name=Spindletop Oilfield}}
*{{Handbook of Texas|id=doogz|name=Oil and Gas Industry}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222028/http://www.worldenergysource.com/articles/text/halbouty_WE_v3n2.cfm "Spindletop: The Original Salt Dome"], ''World Energy Magazine'' Vol. 3 No. 2

{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}
{{Beaumont Texas}}

[[Category:Oil fields in Texas]]
[[Category:Salt domes]]
[[Category:Geography of Jefferson County, Texas]]
[[Category:Landforms of Jefferson County, Texas]]
[[Category:Petroleum in Texas]]
[[Category:Texaco]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Texas]]
[[Category:History of Beaumont, Texas]]
[[Category:Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:1900 in Texas]]
[[Category:1900 in the environment]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Texas]]
[[Category:Energy infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places]]