|
|
KILGORE,
TEXAS
Oil Boom Town
Texas' Official "City of Stars"
Gregg County, East Texas
U.S. Hwy 259 and State Hwy 31, 42, & 135
33 miles W of Marshall
on Hwy 31
26 miles E of Tyler
on Hwy 31
120 miles E of Dallas off
I-20
Population:
11,301 (2000) 11,066 (1990)
|
Oil Derricks
in Kilgore
Photo courtesy Sam Fenstermacher, October 2006 |
In
the 1940s, a drive through Kilgore was unlike any other excursion
into East Texas.
More than 1,000 wooden oil derricks -- perhaps the most visible evidence
of the East Texas oil boom -- lined the town’s streets. During the
Christmas season, lights were hung on many of the derricks. And one
plot of ground was known as “the world’s richest acre.” |
View of "the
world's richest acre" in downtown Kilgore.
Over 1,100 producing wells in Kilgore at the height of the boom
TE photo 5-02 |
Then,
the underground oil pools played out. Kilgore’s oil derricks began
to disappear and Kilgore soon looked like any other East Texas community.
Today, steel replicas of the old derricks are back, thanks to the
work of the Kilgore Historical Preservation Society. And the Christmas
lights are back, too.
Each Christmas, Kilgore lights up its derricks and produces a sample
of what the town looked like some sixty years ago. The lights are
turned on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving and remain lit until
after January 1.
Stars top the sixty replica derricks, helping the city maintain its
title as the state's official "City of Stars." Kilgore is also among
the stops on the Holiday Trail of Lights,
which includes Marshall
and Jefferson
in East Texas and Natchitoches
and Shreveport
in Louisiana. |
Another view
of the "the world's richest acre"
TE photo 5-02 |
On
Oct. 3, 1930, in a Rusk County pasture, 70-year-old "Dad" Joiner brought
in the Daisy Bradford 3 and unknowingly tapped into the world's largest
pocket of oil.
The resulting oil boom brought thousands of producers and drillers
into East Texas, turned the quiet little communities into raucous
boom towns and made millions for oil producers.
The boom also brought con men, prostitutes, thieves and other criminals
before Texas Rangers were assigned to clean up the area.
When the Rangers filled up the jails, they chopped a hole at each
end of an old church building, ran a chain the length of the building,
and chained and padlocked prisoners to the chain. If a prisoner need
to use a restroom, a bucket was passed down the chain.
Even though the oil patch isn’t as prosperous as it once was, oil
remains a big part of the economy of Kilgore and the city remains
a popular destination place for tourists who want to learn how oil
in Texas began. |
 |
Former depot
with oil derricks in Kilgore, Texas
TE photo 5-02 |
Kilgore
has carefully preserved the legacy of its boom years with the East
Texas Oil Museum near the campus of Kilgore College.
Visitors from more than 120 countries have visited the museum, which
is not only the cornerstone of oil history in East Texas, but one
of the leading destinations for tourists in East
Texas.
This Christmas, if you remember the old wooden derricks from East
Texas’ past, come to Kilgore for a hefty dose of nostalgia from the
forties.
From "All
Things Historical" December 19, 2005 Column.
Published with permission
Kilgore
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save |
|
|
The former Crim
Theatre in Kilgore
TE photo 5-02 |
| |
| The former Texan
Theatre, "all interior was done in western style decor."
- Jean Broussard. TE photo 5-02 |
Old neon
drug store sign
TE photo 5-02 |
Beall Brothers
tile sidewalk sign. The first Beall Store ?
TE photo 5-02 |
1931 date
plate. Relic of boomtimes.
TE photo 5-02 |
|
|
Barber
pole and miniature oil derrick
TE photo 5-02 |
| |
Kilgore
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Kilgore
Chronicles
FDR
and Nine Acres by Bob Bowman
"With luck -- and an infusion of funds -- a historic Kilgore
home built in the 1930s could be on its way to regaining its stature
as one of East Texas’ most interesting homes. Set in sylvan splendor
in the middle of the East Texas Oil Field, the home of oilman Tom
Potter is best known as Nine Acres, a place where President Franklin
D. Roosevelt probably visited in the thirties."
Playmates
by George Lester. A memoir
|
Kilgore
Texas Forum
Anyone wanting
to share history, memoriies or photos of Kilgore, Texas - please contact
us.
Photos © John Troesser
Kilgore
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save |
|
|
