Cottle No.1, First Gas Well in Shackelford County
Moran, Shackelford County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The appearance in 1908 of oil and gas in water wells in this vicinity prompted the Texas Company (later Texaco, Inc.) in June 1909 to begin leasing large tracts of land. After a surface geological survey, a wooden derrick complete with cable tools and steam engine was erected by contractor F. J. Winston on a prospective location on the Jim Cottle Ranch and on September 23, 1909, drilling operations began. Equipment breakdowns were frequent and sometimes lengthy, but finally, on November 9, 1910, after 13 months of drilling, the Cottle No. 1 struck natural gas at a depth of 2660 feet. This discovery opened the Moran field, and was the first commercial gas well completed in this vast West Texas area. In the spring of 1911, gas was piped to Moran for residential and business use. Within two years (in 1913) the cities of Albany, Cisco, and Abilene were supplied for the first time with natural gas. By October 1913, with five producing gas wells, the Moran field won recognition as one of the most important sources of fossil fuels in Texas. Although the Cottle No. 1 was plugged years ago, Moran field continues to be an economic mainstay in this area. Marker Sponsors: Citizens of Moran. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When oil and gas began seeping into water wells here in 1908, the Texas Company (later Texaco) leased large tracts and, after a geological survey, raised a wooden derrick on the Jim Cottle Ranch. Drilling began in September 1909, and after thirteen months of frequent breakdowns the Cottle No. 1 struck gas at 2,660 feet in November 1910—the first commercial gas well in the vast West Texas area. Within three years the discovery was piping natural gas to Moran, Albany, Cisco, and Abilene.
Why it matters
This well opened the Moran field and brought natural gas to West Texas towns, a founding chapter in the region's rise as a major American energy producer.
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Related people
- · Jim Cottle
Related events
- · Opening of the Moran field
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Moran
Moran, TX
Settlers reached this rugged West Texas country in the 1860s and, during the Civil War, built the temporary fortress settlement of Mugginsville on Deep Creek for protection. A branch of the western cattle trail once passed nearby, but the town truly took shape after the Texas Central Railroad arrived in 1881; Swope Hull opened a store and the 'Hulltown' post office in 1883, and the community was renamed Moran in 1892 for a railroad president. Incorporated in 1919, it boomed as a supply point during the oil and gas rush of 1910–30.
Granville E. Waters
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Ohio-born Granville Eades Waters came to Texas in 1871 and settled in Shackelford County, where he and his wife raised five sons amid the hardships of frontier life—the nearest post office days away at Fort Griffin. Known by the courtesy title of "Colonel," he made his name introducing Hereford cattle to the region in 1885 and rose to lead the American Hereford Cattle Breeders' Association. In his later years he turned to oil and gas leasing, scouting for the Texas Company and helping open the county to petroleum exploration.
Ibex
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A successful 1919 well drilled by the Ibex Oil Co. into the Caddo Lime formation transformed these cattle ranches into a roaring boomtown, and soon wooden derricks spread for miles. After Ibex sold its leases in 1921, Ed Landreth built a gasoline refinery powered by a dam on Hubbard Creek, and companies like Lone Star Gas and Humble Oil raised facilities and employee housing, though many workers slept in tents or open pasture. By the time the post office closed in 1953 the crowds were gone, leaving only foundations and smokestacks.
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