Mexia Oil Boom

Duane's take

The official marker's got the story, and here's my telling of it — so lean in close, because this one's a genuine Texas legend. Now, Mexia, Texas. Population four thousand souls, going about their business, living quiet Limestone County lives.

Then came 1920. The Rogers No. 1 Well, sitting just a mile and a half west of where this marker stands, just off FM Road 1633 — that well changed everything. And when I say everything, I mean the population of Mexia went from four thousand to fifty thousand.

Not in a decade. Not in a year. Within days.

You let that settle for a moment. Fifty thousand people descended on a town of four thousand within days of an oil discovery. That is not a growth curve.

That is a flood. But the story doesn't start in 1920. Back in 1912, a man named Blake Smith and other Mexia men had already brought in a gas field.

And standing there, looking at what the earth had already given up, they had a thought — a believing kind of thought — that oil could be found here too. So they went looking for the right man to prove it. They found him.

A veteran operator. A flamboyant wildcatter by the name of A. E.

Humphreys. Now, that word flamboyant is doing a lot of work in this marker, and I suspect it earned every letter. Humphreys drove his drill down to three thousand, one hundred and five feet — and struck oil.

By May of 1912, gushers were flowing. The man had two thousand workers on the payroll and was doing a four-million-dollar business. His personal fortune would later be estimated at thirty-seven million dollars.

Thirty-seven million. From a hole in the ground in Limestone County, Texas. The boom was on — and those three words don't begin to cover it.

Other companies formed. A second renowned wildcatter, J. K.

Hughes, stepped into the field alongside Humphreys, and together they shared the work of developing that field to its full capacity. Millionaires rolled in. Merchants followed the millionaires.

Celebrities showed up to see what all the fuss was about. Operators and workers swarmed to Mexia for their share of the Black Gold. And some undesirables came too.

The marker puts it plainly: many undesirables came, and one day they were ousted by the thousands by Texas Rangers. By the thousands. The Rangers didn't send polite notices.

Meanwhile, in that first boom year of 1920 to 1921, five million dollars went into construction alone. Tanks capable of holding over thirty million barrels of oil were built — and even that was not enough. The output exceeded the storage.

The earth was giving up more than anyone had the containers to hold. One of the great free-wheeling oil booms of America, the marker calls it. Before proration was enforced.

Before the rules caught up with the chaos. And Colonel Humphreys — that same flamboyant wildcatter — he developed a park and clubhouse near this very site. Mementos of the boom, the marker says.

And as of 1967, when this story was set down in iron, they were still in use. Four thousand people. Then fifty thousand.

Then the Rangers. Then thirty-seven million dollars and tanks that still weren't big enough. Mexia didn't just have an oil boom.

Mexia had the kind of oil boom that becomes a marker on the side of the road — because otherwise, you might not believe it happened at all.

What the marker says

One of great free-wheeling oil booms of America before proration was enforced. Population in Mexia increased from 4,000 to 50,000 within days after oil discovery in 1920 at Rogers No. 1 Well, located 1.6 miles west of this marker, just off FM Road 1633 Earlier (in 1912), Blake Smith and other Mexia men had brought in a gas field. Believing oil also could be found here, they interested a veteran operator flamboyant wildcatter A. E. Humphreys-- who struck oil at 3,105 feet. By May 1912 gushers were flowing. Humphreys had 2,000 men; did a $4,000,000 business. His fortune later was estimated at $37,000,000. The boom was on. Other companies were formed. A second renowned wildcatter, J. K. Hughes, shared the leadership in developing the field to capacity. Millionaires, merchants, celebrities, operators and workers swarmed to Mexia for a share in the "Black Gold." Many undesirables came also, and one day were ousted by the thousands by Texas Rangers. In 1920-1921 first boom year, $5,000,000 went into construction; tanks for over 30 million barrels of oil were built; but even so storage area was inadequate for output. A park and clubhouse developed near this site by Col. Humphreys-- mementos of boom-- are still in use. 1967