The Birthplace of the Petroleum Industry
Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
West of the Mississippi River. In this well, drilled by H. G. Johnston, E. H. Akin, and Charles Rittersbacher under contract for a water well for the city of Corsicana in 1894, the first oil in commercial quantities in the mid-continent area was discovered at 1035 feet.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1894 a crew drilling a water well for the city of Corsicana struck something unexpected at 1,035 feet: oil, in commercial quantities. It was the first such strike in the entire mid-continent region west of the Mississippi. What began as an accident became the seed of a Texas oil boom that would remake the state's economy.
Why it matters
This chance discovery launched the Texas petroleum industry, an economic engine that transformed the American economy and reshaped the nation's place in the world.
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Nearby & related markers
Old Welding Shop of H. C. Nicol
Corsicana, TX
When the Navarro County oil fields opened in 1894, the young petroleum industry needed craftsmen who could join and repair metal in the field. H. C. Nicol answered that call around 1912, remembered as the first welder to work the county's oil patch in an era when a tradesman still had to mix his own welding chemicals by hand. He pushed the craft further, pioneering the welding of cast iron and aluminum in the area.
Collin Street Bakery
Corsicana, TX
Collin Street Bakery opened in Corsicana in 1896 when German immigrant baker August Weidmann partnered with local cotton buyer W. T. McElwee, pairing baking skill with showmanship. Weidmann's secret recipe became the famous "DeLuxe" fruitcake, eventually shipped worldwide. McElwee's rooming house above the bakery drew visiting ballplayers, circus troupes, and celebrities—from Will Rogers to John Ringling—who mailed the cakes to friends far and wide.
Capt. Charles Henry Allyn
Corsicana, TX
A New York native, Charles Henry Allyn served as a Union captain in the Civil War before coming to Texas in 1868 and settling in Corsicana with his wife Angela in 1871. There he became a pillar of the growing town's economy, helping organize its first national bank, savings and loan companies, and cotton mill. He served on the city council and as mayor from 1888 to 1890, remaining active in civic, educational, and church affairs until his death in 1918.
Early Texas Natural Gas Pipelines
Corsicana, TX
In 1902 the first public use of natural gas in Texas began on this Corsicana street, piping fuel to nearby homes and businesses. Navarro County became a cradle of the industry — the first gas meters appeared at Chatfield in 1905, and gas was first used to pump oil wells here in 1906. From these modest lines grew a network that within a generation spanned the state and, by the 1920s, launched the nation's first interstate natural gas pipelines.