Spindletop is renown in the history of oil as the first oil well of any real significance.
Why?
Because this discovery of black gold changed Texas history as well as global history.
Spindletop Gusher
Before 1901, Texas history was merely one of rural, agricultural roots.
However, the discovery of mass amounts of petroleum combined with drilling advances made by Howard Hughes to more efficiently remove it from the ground, thrust Texas history suddenly into the petroleum and industrial age.
The gusher at Spindletop was drilled on January 9, 1901, near Beaumont, TX. This oilwell was NOT the first attempt by man to harness the earth's petroleum. For instance, the first North American oil well was drilled in 1858 in Ontario, Canada, and one in the United States in 1859 at Titusville, PA to a depth of 69 feet.
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