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SpindleTop Gusher, January 10, 1901, 10 am
Take a trip back into History. Imagine, there are hardly any cars, no freeways, most roads are made of dirt or oyster shells. It is a cold, quiet morning in early January, the begining of the 20 th century. The Hamil brothers from Corsicana are working on a something new, a rotary drilling rig. All this is happening in extreme southeast Texas just south of the town of Beaumont. They are working for Capt. Anthony Lucas and the are drilling for something new, Oil. A young visionary named Patillo Higgins has got them all interested in the prospects of "millions of barrels" of oil lying underneath the "Big Hill" or as the riverboat captains call it, "Spindletop" There is a rumble, a belch from deep below the ground. Suddenly, water, gas, pipe, and green oil shoots up to the sky, The men are able to put out the boiler before it all blows. TEXAS OIL has been discovered.
Texana Tours can take you on a day trip from anywhere in the Houston area to the Spindletop discovery field.
We will leave Houston and head east to the town of Winnie, Texas. We will lunch at Al T's Restaurant and sample some fantastic Cajun food. A real treat for anyone not from Texas or Southeast Louisiana (hey, it is a treat even if you are from Texas or Louisiana) http://www.al-ts.com/specialties
Seafood Appetizers Crawfish Etoufee Shrimp/Oyster Gumbo
We will then proceed to the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum on the campus of Lamar University. You will be able to walk around in replica buildings of the boomtown that immediately sprung-up after the discovery well. You can walk under wooden oil derricks. A replica of the gusher well can be started and you can get the feeling of what it was like when she blew in in 1901. There also a great gift shop located in the museum. Next, we will take you to the exact site of the Spindletop Discovery Well. Many in Texas have heard of Spindletop, especially those in the oil industry, but not too many can say that they have been to the site. TexanaTours in one of the few tour guides that knows where it is and how to get to it. Imagine, you will stand next to the lake that once was a salt dome. Our Tour Guide, Richard Cook will tell you the story of why they were drilling for oil on that spot. He will tell you the story of Patillo Higgins, Anthony Lucas, Jim Hogg, Texaco, Gulf Oil, Hughes Tool and many others. He will show you old derrick footings and old well heads. Richard knows the field as good as anyone and if you listen closely, maybe you will see the ghosts of the biggest oil field the world has known.
A quick return trip to Houston, if we can get thru Winnie without stopping at Al T's again.
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Send mail to
RichardCook@TexanaTours.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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