Boiler Avenue, Spindletop. Texas (near Beaumont), April 23, 1903. Spindletop was named after a salt dome on which its first rig, "Lucas 1," began drilling October 27, 1900. On January 10, 1901 "Lucas 1" blew its top with a gusher that spewed oil over 150 feet in the air, and began flowing at nearly 100,000 barrels a day, more than all other producing wells in the United States, combined. The "black gold rush" began at Spindletop on that day, ultimately accounting for the creation of such future giants as Amoco, Gulf Oil and Humble Oil Company (later part of Exxon). Moreover, "Lucas 1" is credited for innovations like use of mud in place of water for drilling, and the "Christmas Tree," a valve system still used to control high pressure wells today.

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