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.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the 1920s, far West Texas was ranch country — wide, dry, and sparsely settled. Geologists and wildcatters suspected that great pools of oil lay beneath the region now known as the Permian Basin, but proving it was expensive and discouraging. So many dry holes were drilled in this area that it earned a grim nickname: the "Wildcatters' graveyard."
The early 1920s had already brought hints of what was coming. Discoveries elsewhere in the Permian Basin showed that West Texas held oil, and by the middle of the decade drillers were pushing into ranchland across the region.
The United States was in the middle of a transformation that made oil more valuable every year. Automobiles were becoming common in American households, and gasoline was fast becoming a national necessity. A strike in West Texas was not just local news — it fed a growing national hunger for fuel.
People & events
This well was drilled on the huge T. G. Hendrick ranch, some 30,000 acres of West Texas land. Drillers Roy A. Westbrook and an associate leased land for just ten cents an acre — a price that says a lot about how little anyone expected to find in the "Wildcatters' graveyard."
The gamble paid off in spectacular fashion. Around midnight on September 3, 1926, the well came in with great blasts of oil and rock. For the men on the rig, it must have been a terrifying and thrilling moment, as years of disappointment in the area gave way in the dark.
The discovery opened the Hendrick Field, a prolific pool covering about 10,000 acres. This first well was followed by 611 more. It eventually reached a depth of 3,049 feet and produced 235,000 barrels before it was plugged in 1939. Just as important, the information drillers gathered here proved vital for later drilling into the El Capitan reef lime, a major oil-bearing formation.
Its place in the American story
The Hendrick discovery was part of the great opening of the Permian Basin, which became one of the most important oil-producing regions in the United States. Its wealth helped transform the economy of Texas, turning ranching country into oil country and bringing boomtowns, roads, and new people to one of the emptiest corners of the state.
The flood of oil from West Texas fields in the late 1920s also raised hard questions about how much should be pumped. So much oil came out of the ground that prices could collapse, and the struggle over controlling production became a major issue in Texas and national energy policy in the decades that followed.
The knowledge gained here mattered long after this well went quiet. By helping drillers understand the ancient reef formation beneath West Texas, this site contributed to decades of later discoveries — a reminder that in the oil business, information can be as valuable as the oil itself.
If you visit
Stand at this marker and look out over the flat, open West Texas landscape. Picture it as a ranch where drillers paid a dime an acre, and then imagine the night in 1926 when oil and rock came roaring up out of the ground.
The land around you still carries the imprint of the oil age. As you travel through Winkler County and the surrounding Permian Basin, watch for the pump jacks, pipelines, and tank batteries that tell the story of a region built on what lies thousands of feet below.
This stop fits well into a road trip across West Texas oil country. Distances are long and services can be far apart, so plan ahead — and allow time to take in the scale of a landscape that once earned the name "Wildcatters' graveyard" before it became one of the great oil regions of America.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Roy A. Westbrook
- · T.G. Hendrick
Related events
- · Hendrick Field oil discovery
Themes & tags
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