Cable Tool Rig
Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Drilled the early deep oil wells in Texas. Derrick here is exact replica and has same rigging and tools used in 1920 to drill the Crowley No. 1, a 250-barrel producer at 3500 feet--one of deepest wells up to the time. It was near Breckenridge, in one of great fields in oil empire of Texas. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This full-scale replica derrick honors the cable-tool rigs that punched Texas's early deep wells in the boom years after World War I. Its rigging mirrors the equipment used in 1920 to bring in the Crowley No. 1 near Breckenridge, a 250-barrel producer struck at 3,500 feet—among the deepest wells of its day.
Why it matters
Cable-tool drilling opened the deep fields that made Texas synonymous with oil, powering a 20th-century industrial and economic transformation of the American Southwest.
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Related events
- · Crowley No. 1 oil well
Themes & tags
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