Discovery Well in the Wasson Field
Denver City, Yoakum County, Texas
Marker Inscription
L. P. and Ruth Bennett moved to Yoakum County in 1916 to take over the ranching operation they had inherited from Ruth's father Dr. J. R. Smith of Munday. In 1927 they leased part of the ranch to the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company for the drilling of exploratory oil wells. By the mid-1930s the Bennett's cattle business was declining as a result of the economic depression and a severe area drought. They were in danger of losing their property through foreclosure when oil was discovered on the ranch. The find was made on October 10, 1935 at the Ruth Bennett No. 1-678 (6 mi. NE), a well supervised by Fort Worth wildcatter Red Davidson and crews of the Honolulu Oil Company. With the discovery, the Bennetts were able to pay all claims against their land. Increased drilling activity in the area created a "boom town" atmosphere and led to the founding of Denver City (6 mi. S) in 1939. Petroleum remains the major industry in Yoakum County, a national leader in the production of crude oil. In 1964 Gene H. Bennett, the youngest son of L. P. and Ruth Bennett, donated this portion of the Bennett Ranch to the county for use as a park. (1981)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ranchers L.P. and Ruth Bennett, facing foreclosure amid Depression-era drought, saw their fortunes reversed on October 10, 1935, when wildcatter Red Davidson and Honolulu Oil crews struck oil on their Yoakum County land. The discovery well opened the vast Wasson Field and sparked a boom that gave birth to nearby Denver City in 1939. Petroleum remains the region's economic engine, and the family later donated this ground for a county park.
Why it matters
It captures the moment oil transformed the arid Texas plains from struggling ranch country into one of the nation's leading petroleum regions.
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Related people
- · L. P. Bennett
- · Ruth Bennett
- · Red Davidson
Related events
- · Wasson Field oil discovery
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Yoakum County
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Carved out in 1876 and named for Henderson Yoakum — the only Texas county named for an author — this corner of the West Texas plains was so remote that only buffalo hunters and scattered ranchers ventured through until after 1900. The sale of state lands drew homesteaders, the county organized in 1907, and the 1935 discovery of oil finally brought industry and population to a place long defined by its frontier isolation.
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Gaines County's first oil lease dates to 1912, but real drilling waited until 1925, and the Landreth Company brought in the first producing well a decade later. In 1936 Amerada Oil opened the Seminole Pool, which yielded 350 wells within ten years. Less than fifty years after that strike, the county had produced over a billion barrels of crude.
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