Texas became famous for the 1901 Spindletop oil discovery.
Spindletop Hill stood near Beaumont in southeastern Texas. On January 10, 1901, the Lucas gusher erupted from a well drilled by the Gladys City Oil, Gas and Manufacturing Company. The discovery produced oil at a scale that transformed the region and attracted entrepreneurs, workers and investors.
Spindletop helped launch the modern Texas petroleum industry. It stimulated rapid growth in Beaumont and encouraged exploration across the Gulf Coast and beyond. New companies formed during the boom, including enterprises associated with later major U.S. oil firms.
Spindletop was not the first oil discovery in the United States; Pennsylvania’s Drake well had begun commercial production decades earlier. Its importance came from its huge flow and its role in creating a large-scale petroleum economy in Texas.