Back Lucas Gusher Spindletop Oil Field CEB Spindletop Esperanto Spindletop Spanish Spindletop French Spindletop Italian スピンドルトップ Japanese Spindletop Dutch 纺锤顶 Chinese
Spindle | |
 The Lucas gusher at Spindletop, January 10, 1901: This was the first major gusher of the Texas oil boom. | |
  Lucas Gusher, Spindletop Oil Field  Lucas Gusher, Spindletop Oil Field | |
| Location | 3 mi south of Beaumont, Texas on Spindletop Ave. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 30°1′12″N 94°4′31″W / 30.02000°N 94.07528°W |
| Area | 1,130.4 acres (457.5 ha) |
| Built | 1901 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000818[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 13, 1966 |
Spindletop is an 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.[2] On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil ("came in"). The Spindletop gusher blew for 9 days at a rate estimated at 100,000 barrels (16,000 m3) of oil per day.[3] Gulf Oil and Texaco, now part of Chevron Corporation, were formed to develop production at Spindletop.[4] 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.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Hyne, Norman J., Nontechnical guide to petroleum geology, exploration, drilling, and production, Pennwell Books, 2nd ed. p. 193 ISBN 978-0-87814-823-3
- ^ Wooster, Robert; Sanders, Christine Moor: Spindletop Oilfield from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved October 18, 2009., Texas State Historical Association
- ^ Daniel Yergin, The Prize, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, pp. 75–78.