Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
The Oil Boom
Section 1
MAIN IDEAS
1. The Texas oil industry began with the discovery of a major oil field in
Corsicana.
2. The Spindletop strike marked the beginning of the oil boom in Texas.
Key Terms and People
petroleum
a thick, dark fossil fuel commonly called oil
fossil fuel
a fuel formed underground from plant or animal remains
derricks
refinery
towers that support oil-drilling equipment
a factory where crude oil is made pure
a brick-factory owner who believed oil would be found at
Spindletop Hill
Patillo Higgins
Anthony F. Lucas
an engineer who drilled to find oil at Spindletop Hill in 1901
Spindletop strike
marked the beginning of the Texas oil boom and the age of oil in
Texas
boom-and-bust cycle
a cycle of alternating periods of growth and depression in an
industry or economy
Section Summary
THE SEARCH FOR OIL
The demand for oil rose dramatically after scientists
developed kerosene in the mid-1800s. Kerosene
was a new form of fuel for lighting that could be
made from coal or petroleum. Commonly called
oil, petroleum is a dark, thick, liquid fossil fuel. A
fossil fuel is a fuel formed underground from plant
or animal remains.
In Texas, a Civil War veteran named Lyne T.
Barret drilled for oil outside Nacogdoches in 1866.
His oil well was soon producing 10 barrels of oil a
day. However, Barret could not raise the money
necessary to continue drilling and had to shut the
well down. Texas produced only 48 barrels of oil in
1889, compared to 35 million barrels produced in
the rest of the United States.
Why did the demand for oil
rise in the mid-1800s?
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Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Section 1, continued
In 1894, drillers searching for water in Corsicana
struck oil. The Corsicana landscape was soon dotted
with derricks, or towers that support oil-drilling
equipment. To process the oil, business leaders
constructed a refinery. A refinery is a factory in
which crude oil is refined, or made pure, and then
made into various products.
THE SPINDLETOP STRIKE
Pattillo Higgins, a brick-factory owner, believed
that oil would be found under a salt dome at a place
called Spindletop Hill, or Big Hill, near Beaumont.
Salt domes are underground formations that often
trap oil and natural gases. In 1899 Higgins hired an
engineer named Anthony F. Lucas, who was an
expert on salt domes. Lucas agreed that oil was
probably beneath the Spindletop dome. He struck
oil on January 10, 1901. The Spindletop strike
marked the beginning of the Texas oil boom.
Hundreds of oil companies formed to drill new
wells.
BOOM AND BUST AFTER SPINDLETOP
In 1902, nearly 20 percent of the oil produced in the
United States came from Spindletop. With large
quantities of oil being produced, the supply of oil
soon outpaced the demand. Oil prices dropped
dramatically, and the rush of companies drilling at
Spindletop soon drained its oil reserves. These
changes in price were part of a boom-and-bust
cycle, or alternating periods of growth and
depression, in an industry or economy. The boom
and bust at Spindletop was the first such cycle the
Texas oil industry would experience.
Underline the definition of a
salt dome.
Why did oil prices drop?
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CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Identifying Cause and Effect
Identify the events that led to the drop in oil prices.
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Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Section 1, continued
petroleum
derricks
boom-and-bust
cycle
Spindletop strike
fossil fuel
refinery
Patillo Higgins
Anthony F.Lucas
DIRECTIONS Read each sentence and circle the term from the word
pair that best completes each sentence.
1. (Petroleum/Fossil fuel) is the general term for a fuel made from plant or animal
remains.
2. (Patillo Higgins/Anthony F. Lucas) hired an engineer to drill for oil at
Spindletop Hill.
3. The (boom-and-bust cycle /Spindletop strike) occurred in 1901.
4. Drillers used (a refinery/derricks) to support oil-drilling equipment.
DIRECTIONS Write two adjectives or descriptive phrases that describe
each term given.
5. petroleum ________________________________________________________
6. refinery __________________________________________________________
7. boom-and-bust cycle ______________________________________________
8. derricks ______________________________________________
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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