Oil Industry in Gaines County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, every good boom has a slow burn before the explosion, and Gaines County is no exception. The first oil lease out here was signed in 1912.

Nineteen twelve. At that point, nobody was pullin' anything out of the ground, just staking a claim on what might be down there. Then thirteen years pass.

Thirteen quiet years. And in 1925, somebody finally put a drill bit to the earth. Still, nothing came of it right away.

The land kept its secret a little longer. Ten years after that first drilling, the Landreth Company brought in the first producing well. Think about that patience.

First lease in 1912, first drill in 1925, first real production ten years after that. Gaines County was not in a hurry to give itself up. But then, 1936.

That's when Amerada Oil Company opened up the Seminole Pool. A major field. And once it opened, it did not slow down.

Within a single decade, the Seminole Pool had yielded three hundred and fifty wells. Three hundred and fifty. Less than fifty years after that discovery, Gaines County had produced over one billion barrels of crude oil.

One billion. The petroleum industry, the marker tells us plainly, accounts for much of this area's prosperity. And today Gaines ranks as one of the top oil producing counties in the entire state of Texas.

All of it starting with one lease, one quiet signature, back in 1912.

What the marker says

The first oil lease in Gaines County was in 1912 and the first drilling occurred in 1925. Ten years later the Landreth Co. brought in the first producing well. In 1936 Amerada Oil Co. opened up the Seminole Pool, a major field that yielded 350 wells within a decade. Less than 50 years after that discovery, Gaines County had produced over one billion barrels of crude oil. With several active fields, Gaines ranks as one of the top oil producing counties in Texas. The petroleum industry accounts for much of this area's prosperity. (1979)