Kilgore, Texas Shares its Hard-Won Boomtown Experience
Kilgore, Texas was one of the United States' first oil boomtowns. The East Texas Community's new found wealth meant prosperity, but also resulted in significant problems that still plague Kilgore more than eight decades later. Today, Kilgore is sharing the lessons learned with America's newest batch of oil and gas boomtowns.
The Texas Bucket List - Permian Basin Petroleum Museum
The state of Texas conducts a lot of business each and every day and one of busiest places might be in the Permian Basin. Right now Midland and Odessa are booming thanks to the oil business and that has the Petroplex way in the black. But to understand how all of this happened, you have to stop by the Petroleum Museum on Interstate 20 to get an appreciation of the roughneck way of life.
Texas oil boom
The Texas oil boom, sometimes called the gusher age, was a period of dramatic change and economic growth in the U.S. state of Texas during the early 20th century that began with the discovery of a large petroleum reserve near Beaumont, Texas. The find was unprecedented in its size and ushered in an age of rapid regional development and industrialization that has few parallels in U.S. history. Texas quickly became one of the leading oil producing states in the U.S., along with Oklahoma and California; soon the nation overtook the Russian Empire as the top producer of petroleum. By 1940 Texas had come to dominate U.S. production. Some historians even define the beginning of the world's Oil Age as the beginning of this era in Texas.[1]
The major petroleum strikes that began the rapid growth in petroleum exploration and speculation occurred in Southeast Texas, but soon reserves were found across Texas and wells were constructed in North Texas, East Texas, and the Permian Basin in West Texas. Although limited reserves of oil had been struck during the 19th century, the strike at Spindletop near Beaumont in 1901 gained national attention, spurring exploration and development that continued through the 1920s and beyond. Spindletop and the Joiner strike in East Texas, at the outset of the Great Depression, were the key strikes that launched this era of change in the state.
This period had a transformative effect on Texas. At the turn of the century, the state was predominantly rural with no large cities.[2] By the end of World War II, the state was heavily industrialized, and the populations of Texas cities had broken into the top 20 nationally.[3] The city of Houston was among the greatest beneficiaries of the boom, and the Houston area became home to the largest concentration of refineries and petrochemical plants in the world.[4] The city grew from a small commercial center in 1900 to one of the largest cities in the United States during the decades following the era. This period, however, changed all of Texas' commercial centers (and developed the Beaumont/Port Arthur area, where the boom began).
H. Roy Cullen, H. L. Hunt, Sid W. Richardson, and Clint Murchison were the four most influential businessmen during this era. These men became among the wealthiest and most politically powerful in the state and the nation.
JIM MILLER: Carol (Spindletop Records) 1963 -- Port Arthur, Texas.
JIM MILLER: Gonna Find Me An Angel b/w Carol on Spindletop Records SR-45011).
Holiday Inn Express Vidor South - Vidor, Texas
Hotel and Resort photography & video by PhotoWeb (photowebusa.com)
Experience real Southern hospitality when you stay at the Holiday Inn Express®,Vidor, Texas hotel. Conveniently located off I-10 and just six miles east of Beaumont, TX, our hotel in Vidor has a prime location in a cozy small town while still providing easy access to exciting entertainment and attractions. Gerdau Ameristeel, Bethlehem Steel, Texaco, Port of Beaumont and ExxonMobil are just a few of the companies that are close to our hotel's property.
In Vidor, Texas you'll enjoy a carefree stay with our business center and free high-speed Internet access. We even have the perfect space for your professional meeting or social event, with our 700-square-foot facilities.
Numerous activities await our guests in nearby Beaumont, TX. Our hotel is minutes from popular attractions like the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, Texas Energy Museum, Art Museum of Southeast Texas and the Crockett Street Entertainment District. We are also just a short drive from the Big Thicket National Preserve, Delta Downs Race Track & Casino and the Gulf of Mexico.
If you're looking for hotels in Vidor, Texas that offer excellent perks, we have a 24-hour fitness center with cardiovascular equipment, a crystal-clear outdoor pool and on-site laundry facilities.
Join us each morning for our free, hot Express Start breakfast buffet. Make your reservations today and enjoy everything our hotel has to offer.
*****************************************************************
Hotel and Resort still photography, video and YouTube videos by PhotoWeb (photowebusa.com). PhotoWeb's Virtual Tours, videos, YouTube videos, Digital Stills & Worldwide Distribution allow clients to put their most powerful media where the booking decisions are made. Photo Web has been providing cutting edge imaging services since 1996. With offices in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, India, and Colombia, PhotoWeb provides services worldwide. For further information, please contact sales@photowebusa.com or telephone: +1-614-882-3499.