Black Gold in Texas

Oil redefined Texas in the twentieth century. During the nineteenth century, Texans had won their independence from Mexico, joined fellow Southerners in losing the Civil War, and made a great economic recovery with cattle and cotton. All of that provided more than enough history to give Texas a distinct image in the eyes of many observers. Then Spindletop exploded in 1901, flooding the surrounding landscape with barrels of black gold. Other drillers found glory and profit in the Lone Star State, and by 1927 Texas led the United States in oil production. Texans also profited greatly from natural gas, refining, pipelines, petrochemicals, and other oil-related enterprises, all of which redefined not just the Texas economy, but also its politics and society. This can clearly be seen in articles that have appeared in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the oldest continuously published academic journal in the United States. This volume includes seventeen selections on oil and gas history from the Quarterly, providing a broad perspective on its evolution and impact.