Spindletop Viewing Platform

An Overnight Boomtown

Lucas Gusher blew in at Spindletop Hill on Jan. 10, 1901, changing history in a day.

A boom town sprang up overnight around the well that flowed 100,000 barrels a day from 1,020 feet below ground. This original site is in a field near Spindletop Boomtown Museum and Gladys City, a recreation of the area with a saloon, blacksmith shop mercantile, etc. The discovery changed technology, flow and production forever and set Port Arthur and Beaumont’s course as a refinery district. Texaco, Gulf Oil, Mobil, Chevron and more have ties to the area.

“We oil the world” became Port Arthur’s slogan.

Interpretive panels and a wheelchair ramp are improvements dedicated on the gusher’s 125th anniversary.

Postcard Perfect

Port Arthur photographer Frank J. Trost loaded up his wagon with the heavy equipment needed to capture a famous image of the spewing Lucas Gusher. He sold them by the thousands, as postcards. Beaumont photographer H.I. Ostebee missed his chance for fame and fortune because of jury duty.

Museum of the Gulf Coast features an indoor mural and exhibit on the Lucas Gusher and the area’s oil industry. Catch Trost’s famous photo at the museum.

Getting There:

The Spindletop Park entrance is on the east side of West Port Arthur Road, Spur 93. Heading south on West Port Arthur Road, it is 1.4 miles south of Highway 96, 287, Cardinal Drive. Heading north on West Port Arthur Road it is 1.5 miles north of Highway 3514.