Clayco #1 Oil Well
Electra, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Clayco No. 1 Woodruff-Putnam, 1628 feet. Here flowed oil April 1, 1911, opening one of the world's greatest oil fields. Crew - Hal Hughes, Sam Turnbo, S. C. "Dad" Massengill, Lamar Weathersby, Clabe Moody, Richard Harper, Ed Beeler, A. F. Dennison, R. T. Craig.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On April 1, 1911, the Clayco No. 1 well roared in at 1,628 feet, opening what would become one of the world's greatest oil fields near Electra. The named crew—drillers and roughnecks like Hal Hughes and S. C. "Dad" Massengill—stood at the ground floor of the North Texas oil boom. Discoveries like this one turned quiet ranch country into a magnet for capital, labor, and speculation almost overnight.
Why it matters
The Electra strike helped launch the Texas oil age, the industry that would remake the state's economy and fuel a rapidly modernizing nation.
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Related people
- · Hal Hughes
- · S. C. "Dad" Massengill
Themes & tags
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