First Gas Well in the Panhandle of Texas
Amarillo, Potter County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The discovery well in the vast Panhandle-Hugoton Gas Field, largest known gas field in the world, is located one mile east of this point on the east slope of John Ray Butte. The geological structure was discovered by Dr. Charles N. Gould in 1905 while in the employ of the United States Geological Survey, and the well was located by him in 1917. This well, the Hapgood, Masterson No. 1, was started December 1, 1917, and completed at a cost of $70,000 as a gas well December 7, 1918, at a depth of 2605 feet. It produced about 5,000,000 cubic feet of gas per day. This discovery initiated the development of this great gas field and of the Panhandle oil fields. The gas field now extends 275 miles from the Texas Panhandle north into Kansas, with a width in places of more than 90 miles. Pipelines from this field transmit gas to Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and to most of the cities and towns of the mid-west. Lines also carry gas to Los Angeles and to other cities and towns on the west coast. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The structure beneath the Panhandle-Hugoton Gas Field—one of the largest gas fields in the world—was first identified by U.S. Geological Survey geologist Dr. Charles N. Gould in 1905. He sited the discovery well, the Hapgood, Masterson No. 1, which was drilled beginning in December 1917 and struck gas a year later at 2,605 feet, flowing some five million cubic feet a day. That well opened a vast field that would eventually pipe gas to cities from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Why it matters
This first well launched the energy boom that made the Texas Panhandle a national supplier of natural gas and reshaped its economy for the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Charles N. Gould
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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