DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little Texas on top. Now, if you head 0.8 miles north on Farm Road 671 out in Caldwell County, you'll find yourself standing near the spot where the whole Luling Field story began — and friend, it is some kind of story. The Luling Field went on to become a major Texas oil area, but before any of that glory, somebody had to be stubborn enough to keep drilling when every sign said quit.
That somebody was a wildcatter named E.B. Davis. He was out there on land owned by R.
Rios, chasing a dream that the ground kept refusing to give him. One dry hole. Then another.
Then a third. Three dry holes in the same area — that's the kind of streak that sends most men back to whatever they were doing before. But not E.B.
Davis. He kept the bit turning. And then, on August 10, 1922, the Rafael Rios No. 1 came in.
The discovery well of the Luling Field had finally answered. Now, once a field proves itself, the big companies tend to take notice. Magnolia Oil — known today as Mobil — bought the field in 1926.
And from that point forward, the ground just kept on giving. By 1969, production out of the Luling Field had reached one hundred thirty-five million barrels. One hundred thirty-five million.
All of it tracing back to one wildcatter who drilled through three failures before the earth finally said yes. The marker itself was donated by Mobil Oil Corporation — fitting, you might say, that the company who inherited the field helped make sure the world remembered who found it.
What the marker says
(Located 0.8 Mi.N, on Farm Road 671) Discovery well of Luling Field, a major Texas oil area. Wildcatter E.B. Davis drilled on land owned by R. Rios. Well came in Aug. 10, 1922, after 3 dry holes had been drilled in same area. Magnolia (now Mobil) Oil Co. bought filed 1926. By 1969, production was 135,000,000 barrels. Incise on back: Donated by Mobil Oil Corporation.