Warm Up
Common Uses Of Oil
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The Age of Oil
The Discovery of Oil in Texas Leads to Industrialization
For many years, people used whale oil to light their homes.
In the 1800s, as whale populations declined, U.S. settlers began to use “rock” oil (oil from the ground) for some medicines, and as grease for wagons and tools. For lamps, they refined the oil into kerosene, which burned cleanly, without a lot of smoke.
In the late 1800s, one man controlled most of the U.S. supply of oil for people’s homes. That man was John D. Rockefeller, and his company, Standard Oil, made him one of the richest Americans who
ever lived.
Rockefeller had a “monopoly” on the U.S. oil industry (he controlled every part of it, from drilling and refining to distribution and sales).
From 1866 on, oil was being drilled in Texas. One of the first Texas wells was drilled at a place called Oil Springs, near Nacogdoches in East Texas. Then more oil was drilled in Corsicana, and by 1898, Texas had its own refinery there. The discovery of oil at Corsicana launched The Age of
Oil.By 1900, total Texas oil production was 863,000 barrels—a small fraction of the national total of 63 million. But that was about to
●●
change!
Just outside Beaumont, Texas, was a place called Spindletop Hill. It was formed by an underground salt dome, which pushed the earth above it higher and higher as
it grew.
A mechanic and self-taught geologist named Patillo Higgins suspected there might be oil underneath Spindletop. He organized the Gladys City Oil, Gas and Manufacturing Company in 1892 and eventually went into business with an immigrant engineer named Anthony Lucas.
Patillo Higgins & Anthony Lucas
The company started by Higgins and Lucas, the Gladys Company, hired three brothers, Al, Jim, and Curt Hamill, who were expert drillers.
The Hamill brothers started drilling at Spindletop in October 1900. It was harder than they thought. The sandy soil kept collapsing into the hole they were drilling! And they were running out of money.
The Hamills had an idea. They brought in a herd of cows to stomp around in the watering hole, which made a bunch of mud. Then they injected the mud into the drill hole. By making their hole out of mud instead of sand, the hole held its shape and they were able to drill deeper, hoping they’d eventually find oil!
On January 10, 1901, mud began bubbling back up out of the hole. The brothers heard a low rumble, and they knew what that meant. The workers threw themselves off the rig just as the mud came gushing out at high speed, followed by natural gas and then…oil! The Lucas Gusher, as it was called, reached a height of more than 150 feet, and was the most powerful that had ever been seen anywhere in the world! It took nine days to cap it—after an estimated 100,000 barrels of oil had been shooting out every day)! The Hamills, Patillo Higgins, and Anthony
Lucas were rich!
The first oil boom had officially been born! The Lucas Gusher was soon producing close to 100,000 barrels a day, more than all the other oil wells in America combined!
Beaumont became an instant “boom town.” Forty-thousand people suddenly moved in to work in the oil fields around Spindletop. More wells were drilled. People shared beds and slept in shifts. Sometimes they even slept on the streets because there weren’t enough beds. The land around Beaumont became much more valuable. “Shanty towns” sprang up quickly, made of make-shift shacks
that people lived in.
Boomtown:A town undergoing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity.
By the next year, 500 companies had started in the area, including Gulf Oil, Texaco, Humble Oil (which became Exxon), Guffey Oil (which became Chevron), and Magnolia Oil Company (which became Mobil). The ports at the towns of Beaumont, Orange, and Port Arthur became very
important
The Texas oil industry began a series of “boom-and-bust” cycles.
BOOM AND BUST CYCLES
Boom-and-bust cycles describe alternating phases of economic ($$) growth and decline; these are typical in modern capitalist economies like ours.In a boom time, the economy grows, jobs are plentiful, and investors make good money.In a bust period, the economy shrinks, people lose their jobs and investors lose money.Boom-bust cycles last for varying lengths of time; they also
vary in severity.
Boom-and-bust cycles happen in many Texas industries, including the oil and gas industry, farming, cotton, ranching, real estate, banking, and even computer
technology.
In 1908, Howard Hughes, Sr. filed a patent for the two-cone rotary drill bit, nicknamed the “rock eater” because it penetrated medium and hard rock with 10 times the speed of any former drill
bit.It’s development revolutionized oil drilling and changed the entire
industry.The fees for licensing this technology made Hughes Tools very wealthy!
Texas oil changed the world!
Ft. Worth was known for meat packing; Dallas was known for banking and fashion. Houston became known for OIL!By 1913, the Texas Legislature had to create the Workers Compensation system to protect workers in the oil industry.The Houston Ship Channel (Infrastructure) was completed in 1914 to allow oil carriers (ships) to transport refined oil to the
world.The Texas Railroad Commission began regulating the oil industry to prevent overproduction that would crash the industry. It’s one of the most powerful state agencies today. It no longer regulates railroads, but it does regulate the oil industry.
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The Age of Oil
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Transcript
Warm Up
Common Uses Of Oil
This page is password protected
Enter the password
The Age of Oil
The Discovery of Oil in Texas Leads to Industrialization
For many years, people used whale oil to light their homes.
In the 1800s, as whale populations declined, U.S. settlers began to use “rock” oil (oil from the ground) for some medicines, and as grease for wagons and tools. For lamps, they refined the oil into kerosene, which burned cleanly, without a lot of smoke.
In the late 1800s, one man controlled most of the U.S. supply of oil for people’s homes. That man was John D. Rockefeller, and his company, Standard Oil, made him one of the richest Americans who
ever lived.
Rockefeller had a “monopoly” on the U.S. oil industry (he controlled every part of it, from drilling and refining to distribution and sales).
From 1866 on, oil was being drilled in Texas. One of the first Texas wells was drilled at a place called Oil Springs, near Nacogdoches in East Texas. Then more oil was drilled in Corsicana, and by 1898, Texas had its own refinery there. The discovery of oil at Corsicana launched The Age of
Oil.By 1900, total Texas oil production was 863,000 barrels—a small fraction of the national total of 63 million. But that was about to
●●
change!
Just outside Beaumont, Texas, was a place called Spindletop Hill. It was formed by an underground salt dome, which pushed the earth above it higher and higher as
it grew.
A mechanic and self-taught geologist named Patillo Higgins suspected there might be oil underneath Spindletop. He organized the Gladys City Oil, Gas and Manufacturing Company in 1892 and eventually went into business with an immigrant engineer named Anthony Lucas.
Patillo Higgins & Anthony Lucas
The company started by Higgins and Lucas, the Gladys Company, hired three brothers, Al, Jim, and Curt Hamill, who were expert drillers.
The Hamill brothers started drilling at Spindletop in October 1900. It was harder than they thought. The sandy soil kept collapsing into the hole they were drilling! And they were running out of money.
The Hamills had an idea. They brought in a herd of cows to stomp around in the watering hole, which made a bunch of mud. Then they injected the mud into the drill hole. By making their hole out of mud instead of sand, the hole held its shape and they were able to drill deeper, hoping they’d eventually find oil!
On January 10, 1901, mud began bubbling back up out of the hole. The brothers heard a low rumble, and they knew what that meant. The workers threw themselves off the rig just as the mud came gushing out at high speed, followed by natural gas and then…oil! The Lucas Gusher, as it was called, reached a height of more than 150 feet, and was the most powerful that had ever been seen anywhere in the world! It took nine days to cap it—after an estimated 100,000 barrels of oil had been shooting out every day)! The Hamills, Patillo Higgins, and Anthony
Lucas were rich!
The first oil boom had officially been born! The Lucas Gusher was soon producing close to 100,000 barrels a day, more than all the other oil wells in America combined!
Beaumont became an instant “boom town.” Forty-thousand people suddenly moved in to work in the oil fields around Spindletop. More wells were drilled. People shared beds and slept in shifts. Sometimes they even slept on the streets because there weren’t enough beds. The land around Beaumont became much more valuable. “Shanty towns” sprang up quickly, made of make-shift shacks
that people lived in.
Boomtown:A town undergoing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity.
By the next year, 500 companies had started in the area, including Gulf Oil, Texaco, Humble Oil (which became Exxon), Guffey Oil (which became Chevron), and Magnolia Oil Company (which became Mobil). The ports at the towns of Beaumont, Orange, and Port Arthur became very
important
The Texas oil industry began a series of “boom-and-bust” cycles.
BOOM AND BUST CYCLES
Boom-and-bust cycles describe alternating phases of economic ($$) growth and decline; these are typical in modern capitalist economies like ours.In a boom time, the economy grows, jobs are plentiful, and investors make good money.In a bust period, the economy shrinks, people lose their jobs and investors lose money.Boom-bust cycles last for varying lengths of time; they also
vary in severity.
Boom-and-bust cycles happen in many Texas industries, including the oil and gas industry, farming, cotton, ranching, real estate, banking, and even computer
technology.
In 1908, Howard Hughes, Sr. filed a patent for the two-cone rotary drill bit, nicknamed the “rock eater” because it penetrated medium and hard rock with 10 times the speed of any former drill
bit.It’s development revolutionized oil drilling and changed the entire
industry.The fees for licensing this technology made Hughes Tools very wealthy!
Texas oil changed the world!
Ft. Worth was known for meat packing; Dallas was known for banking and fashion. Houston became known for OIL!By 1913, the Texas Legislature had to create the Workers Compensation system to protect workers in the oil industry.The Houston Ship Channel (Infrastructure) was completed in 1914 to allow oil carriers (ships) to transport refined oil to the
world.The Texas Railroad Commission began regulating the oil industry to prevent overproduction that would crash the industry. It’s one of the most powerful state agencies today. It no longer regulates railroads, but it does regulate the oil industry.
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