Winkler County Discovery Well
Winkler, Winkler County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First of 612 Wells in Hendrick Field, a very prolific, 10,000 acre west Texas oil pool. This area, called "Wildcatters' graveyard", lay on the 30,000 acre T. G. Hendrick ranch. Drillers Roy A. Westbrook & Associate leased land at 10 cents an acre. Well arrived dramatically, in great blasts of oil and rock, about midnight, Sept. 3, 1926. Its eventual depth was 3,049 feet. Total production when plugged in 1939 was 235,000 barrels. Data gathered here was vital in future drilling of El Capitan reef lime, a major oil-bearing geologic formation. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Just before midnight on September 3, 1926, this well came in with great blasts of oil and rock, becoming the first of 612 wells in the vast Hendrick Field on the T.G. Hendrick ranch — land drillers Roy A. Westbrook and his associate had leased for a dime an acre in a region nicknamed the "Wildcatters' graveyard." Reaching 3,049 feet, it produced 235,000 barrels before being plugged in 1939. The data gathered here guided later drilling of the region's major oil-bearing formations.
Why it matters
The discovery well turned a barren West Texas ranch into one of the era's great oil pools, part of the petroleum rush that reshaped the state's economy and the nation's energy landscape.
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Related people
- · Roy A. Westbrook
- · T.G. Hendrick
Related events
- · Hendrick Field oil discovery
Themes & tags
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