Oil Boom Towns, Cabin #2

Back to the Rates page

As you may have read in our Steakhouse menu, “wildcatter” is defined as one who explores for oil and gas in unproven areas. In the early 1900s, this definition fit those who roamed this Brazos River Valley area looking for the elusive barrel of oil.

In 1872, the Graham brothers, founders of Graham, drilled the first gas well to a depth of 400 feet, looking for gas to fuel their salt works. They encountered salt water with only a trace of gas.

In 1887, another well drilled for fresh water found water impregnated with coal oil and flammable gas. Oil entrepreneurs felt certain this area had to have commercial quantities, but their efforts between 1912 and 1919 failed. Only small non-commercial quantities were found.

Finally, in 1920, the Panhandle Refining Company drilled the McCluskey No. 1. The well came in on July 4, 1920, at 6,800 barrels of oil per day, returning over $1,000,000 in revenue in only eight months.

Word quickly spread and drilling operations, mainly along the Brazos River in Young County, hit a fevered pitch. Numerous discoveries, associated development wells and boomtowns sprang up all along the Brazos from western Young County to eastern Young County.

Western Young County “big boys” were Eliasville and South Bend. Both grew rapidly with populations topping 10,000 in just a few years. In fact, three refineries and two casing head gas plants opened in South Bend in 1921. In the same year Bunger, Oil City (Grimshaw), McCluskey City, Harding, Lake City and numerous smaller unnamed settlements developed.

In 1922, Herron City and Ming Bend City sprang up. These overnight boomtowns were in sight of this very ranch. If you look due west from our pavilion site, you would have viewed Herron City in the years 1922 and 1923. By 1924, nothing would have remained. After the drilling was completed, this lively little spot of clapboard shacks and stores was torn down and removed.

Reports from The Graham Leader in 1922 and 1923 talked of illegal alcohol sales and gambling in Herron City. To give you an idea of the lively reports coming from this area, we quote a 1922 article from The Graham Leader:

"OFFICERS CAPTURE STILL NEAR HERRON CITY

One of the biggest stills and choe breweries ever found in Young County was confiscated and burned by county officers last Saturday after its discovery on the banks of a creek midway between Oil City and Herron City.

Mrs. John B. Rhea, wife of the county attorney, accompanied her husband and Sheriff Saye and Deputy Livingston on the raid. She was given a pistol and stood guard while the others carried on the work of destruction.

A.J. Barry, an aged man formerly of South Bend, who was the only one arrested, sampled too much of the whiskey while the officers were busy, and was thoroughly drunk when the party left for town. Barry was charged with manufacturing and possession.

The still was the main source of supply for Oil City and Herron City according to the belief of officers. They found 30 gallons of finished whiskey and 60 cases of choe beer. This stuff was lying outside the two tents waiting for truck transportation to the “markets.”

Three men were sitting outside the tents eating fried chicken when the official party drove up. They scattered and Barry was the only one who was caught.

The outfit included 600 pounds of sugar and 300 pounds of corn mash."

Oh yes, in the days of prohibition good times were to be had in a typical Young County boomtown. Though Graham’s law enforcement was strapped to police the surrounding areas for all the illegalities, its economy was greatly helped.

One of the pictures in the oil boomtown theme rooms shows a typical trade day in Graham in the early 1920s. As you will note, parking seemed to be a slight problem.

Probably the most notable merchant to set up shop to take advantage of the booming economy was Morris B. Zale. He opened a mercantile store on the north side of the Courthouse Square. He stayed less than a year, and then moved to Wichita Falls where he eventually started the world’s largest chain of jewelry stores.

While touring the ranch, you will note there are two old steel oil derricks still standing across Conner Creek. These derricks were used in the 1930s to develop the fabulous Kissinger Oil Pool (a photograph is in the theme room). From this pool emerged Young County’s all-time greatest individual producing well, the Sinclair Moran No. 1. The well produced an estimated 3,000,000 barrels of oil, but all good things must come to an end. The well eventually became uneconomical and was plugged by Echo Production, Inc., owned by the founders of Wildcatter Ranch.

Oil and gas is still a very important part of the economy of Young County. But due to the depletable nature of this resource, we doubt there will ever be another period like these colorful early years. I say this and yet the owners of this ranch did have one very colorful but expensive experience occur in their oil company. It happened in 1985 and is considered the one of the more famous blowouts in North Texas history. The Graham National Bank #2 blowout burned down a rig and burned 7 days before being brought under control by famous firefighting team Boots and Coots. A video of this blowout and how it was capped is in the Ranch library.