North Nocona Oil Field - Montague County Oil Discovery, 1922
Nocona, Montague County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pennsylvania oil man George Williams, backed by Cad McCall, drilled for oil intermittently, 1918-22, beginning at Eagle Point (4.5 mi. SE). Leasing by individuals and major companies--including Phil Lesh, A.E. Humphrey, and the Texas Co.--kept rigs working. Gas blew in at 800-foot depth on J.W. Maddox-J.E. Lemons land, one well yielding over 100,000,000 cubic feet daily. The gas was piped to Nocona and rural homes. Oil was discovered in 1922 on Maddox site, at about 1,000 feet. Production continued at 1,000-2,000 feet, there and elsewhere. The gas caused trouble: a capped well blew mud from prairie dog holes and gas from water well a quarter-mile away. In 1925, a gas well on W.W. Jones land (2 mi. W) blew out a gigantic crater. Another well (.75 mi. W) caught fire, burned its rig, and was finally doused by nationally-famed oil well fire fighter Tex Thornton. With an estimated 100,000,000-barrel total on record, this 12,295-acre field still produces. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Pennsylvania oilman drilling here on and off from 1918 struck first gas — one well gushing over 100 million cubic feet a day, piped to Nocona and rural homes — and then oil in 1922 at about a thousand feet. The gas made for wild scenes: a well that blew mud from prairie-dog holes, another that cratered the prairie, and a rig fire finally smothered by the famous oil-fire fighter Tex Thornton. The field has since yielded an estimated 100 million barrels and still produces.
Why it matters
The North Nocona field captures the chaotic, dangerous early years of the Texas oil boom that transformed the state's economy in the early twentieth century.
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Related people
- · George Williams
- · Tex Thornton
Themes & tags
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