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52-437: The field includes parts of Gregg , western Rusk , southern Upshur , southeastern Smith , and northeastern Cherokee counties in the northeastern part of the state. Overall the field is about 45 miles (72 km) long on the north-south axis, and five miles (8 km) to 12 miles (19 km) across. The producing sands were relatively shallow at about 3,500 feet (1,100 m), was high gravity , low in sulfur, and yielded

104-406: A drill stem test at 3,486 feet (1,063 m) showed oil and gas. By 2 October, the casing was cemented in, and the well was ready to be brought in, with over 8000 persons on hand to bear witness. On 5 October, oil gushed over the derrick before Laster directed the 6800 BOPD flow into storage tanks. The Daisy Bradford discovery well settled in to produce, on average, 250 BOPD . On 13 December,

156-486: A daily newspaper and then as a weekly newspaper. Before the complete disfranchisement of rural freedmen , Gregg County's black freedmen allowed it to vote for William McKinley twice, and for several other Republicans during the Third Party System . Gregg subsequently became a classic " Solid South " Democratic county between 1904 and 1948, but has since become solidly Republican at a Presidential level, although

208-588: A day. Hunt's purchase provided the financial base for him to found Hunt Oil Company in 1934. It was the enormous quantities of oil from the East Texas Oil Field and their importance to the Allied effort in World War II that led to the creation of the world's largest pipeline up until that time, the " Big Inch ", a 24-inch (610 mm), 1,400-mile (2,300 km) pipeline which transported crude to refineries in

260-463: A high percentage of gasoline (up to 37 per cent). Interstate 20 cuts across the field from east to west, and the towns of Kilgore , Overton , and Gladewater are on the field. At one time, downtown Kilgore had more than 1,000 active wells clustered in a tight area, making it the densest oil development in the world. The primary productive geologic unit is the Cretaceous -age Woodbine Formation ,

312-467: A regional petroleum-bearing unit which had been known since the early part of the 20th century. This sandstone unit was deposited during a period when East Texas was a shallow sea , approximately 100 million years ago. During a subsequent period it was uplifted with the Sabine Uplift , eroded , and then covered again by the sea, which this time unconformably deposited a layer of impermeable chalk,

364-512: A reputation for aggressively discontinuing passenger trains after the mid-1960s. When the National Railroad Passenger Corporation ( Amtrak ) assumed passenger train operations on May 1, 1971, the only Missouri Pacific route included as part of Amtrak's basic system was its main line from St. Louis to Kansas City. This route is now served by Amtrak's Missouri River Runner (named for the fact that it runs mostly parallel to

416-669: Is Longview . The county is named after John Gregg , a Confederate general killed in action during the American Civil War . Gregg County is part of the Longview, Texas metropolitan area and the Longview– Marshall , Texas combined statistical area . Discovery of oil near Kilgore in October 1930 was the beginning of an oil boom that attracted workers to the county and expanded the population by more than 500% by 1940, according to

468-458: The 2020 census , 124,239 people resided in the county, reflecting statewide population growth during the early 2000s-2020. The population density was 406 inhabitants per square mile (157/km ) in 2000; the 46,349 housing units averaged 169 per square mile (65/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 72.89% White, 19.86% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 4.57% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races; about 9.14% of

520-695: The Austin Chalk , creating a stratigraphic trap – a situation where oil, which is lighter than water and migrates upwards, reaches a point where it can move no farther, and pools. The source rock for the oil in East Texas is the overlying Eagle Ford Shale . Water intrusion from deeper in Woodbine Formation is the mechanism pushing oil through the reservoir toward the producing wells. A 1932 study showed that oil wells stopped flowing when water pressure dropped below 800 pounds per square inch. More recently,

572-652: The Missouri River ). On March 13, 1974, Amtrak restored passenger train service over segments of Missouri Pacific- Texas and Pacific 's original Texas Eagle route between St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo with the Inter-American . This train was renamed the Texas Eagle in 1981, resurrecting the name of the famous MoPac train. The Amtrak version runs over former MoPac and T&P trackage for much of its route. On July 30, 2005, UP unveiled

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624-505: The Philadelphia area. Prior to building the pipeline, oil had to be transported by ship, and many such ships were sunk by German submarines during the early part of the war, especially in 1942 and early 1943. Construction of the pipeline commenced in August 1942 and terminated on March 2, 1944. By the end of the war, over 350 million barrels (56,000,000 m) of crude flowed from East Texas to

676-757: The Scenic Limited operated through the Royal Gorge over the tracks of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad . From Salt Lake City to San Francisco , the Scenic Limited operated over the Western Pacific Railroad. A second premier train, the Sunshine Special began operating on December 5, 1915, between St. Louis and San Antonio via Little Rock and Austin . Another named train, the Rainbow Special ,

728-498: The U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas , and southeast along the Gulf seaports of Louisiana and Texas . MoPac operated a fleet of more than 1,500 diesel locomotives , almost all purchased within the previous 10 years. Under the leadership of Downing B. Jenks, who became president and chief executive in 1961, the company became a pioneer in the early days of computer-guided rail technology. It

780-849: The Union Pacific Railroad , agreed to buy the Missouri Pacific Railroad on January 8, 1980. Lawsuits filed by competing railroads delayed approval of the merger until September 13, 1982. After the Supreme Court denied a trial to the Southern Pacific , the merger took effect on December 22, 1982. However, due to outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific, its full merger into the Union Pacific Railroad did not become official until January 1, 1997. On July 4, 1851, ground

832-401: The 2018 price of about $ 55/bbl, the past production would be worth around $ 285 billion today. 32°23′8″N 94°52′7″W  /  32.38556°N 94.86861°W  / 32.38556; -94.86861 Gregg County, Texas Gregg County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas . As of the 2020 census , its population was 124,239. Its county seat

884-730: The Daisy Bradford No. 3 discovery, Hunt met with him at the Baker Hotel in Dallas in November 1930 and bought the well and 5,580 acres for $ 1.34 million. On 20 December, Hunt's Panola Pipeline Company was pumping oil to a branch line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad , where tank cars sent it onward to Sinclair Oil Corporation 's Houston refinery. By the summer of 1931, about 1,200 Rusk County oil wells were producing 900,000 barrels of oil

936-562: The Deep Rock Oil well produced 3000 BOPD a mile west of the Joiner well. On 16 December, H.L. Hunt's well to the south of the Joiner well, produced under 100 BOPD. On 28 December, Ed Bateman's well, No. 1 Lou Della Crim, on a site picked by the geologist P.S. Groginski 13 miles (21 km) to the north of the Daisy Bradford 3, produced 22,000 barrels (3,500 m) daily. On 26 January 1931,

988-560: The John E. Farrell, W.A. Moncrief, and Eddie Showers well, the Lathrop 1, produced 20,000 BOPD. The well, about 26 miles (42 km) north of the initial Daisy Bradford well, gushed 320 barrels (51 m) of oil per hour, from approximately the same depth as the other wells, 3,587 feet (1,093 m). That these wells were in a connected oil reservoir was not immediately obvious to those who drilled them, as no field this large had ever been discovered on

1040-510: The L&;N portion. By that same definition, MP operated 10,431 route-miles at the end of 1929, after A&G, SAS and Sugar Land had come under NOT&M; NO&LC operated 60 and DK&S (not subsidiary until 1931) operated 6. At the end of 1960, MP operated 9,362 route-miles, NO&LC and DK&S were the same, and M-I operated 172 miles. "T&P" includes its subsidiary roads (A&S, D&PS, T-NM etc.); operated route-miles totaled 2,259 at

1092-610: The North American continent. Within a few months, drillers, landowners, and investors began to realize they had a spectacular oil field two thirds of a mile under their feet, one that would produce enormous quantities of high-grade oil almost anywhere they drilled. H.L. Hunt was among the independent oil producers who rushed to East Texas. Hunt had been successful during the 1920s in the El Dorado and Smackover oil fields of Arkansas. When Dad Joiner found himself in legal trouble soon after

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1144-849: The Pacific Railroad, Missouri Pacific at one time advertised itself as being "The First Railroad West of the Mississippi". Other predecessors included the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (SLIMS), Texas and Pacific Railway (TP), Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (C&EI), St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway (SLBM), Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (KO&G), Midland Valley Railroad (MV), San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad (SAU&G), Gulf Coast Lines (GC), International-Great Northern Railroad (IGN), Kansas, Nebraska & Dakota Railroad, New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway (NOTM), Missouri-Illinois Railroad (MI), as well as

1196-406: The area. In the early 21st century, slightly less than 20% of the population is African American. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 276 square miles (710 km ), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km ) (0.9%) are covered by water. According to the 2000 census , 111,379 people, 42,687 households, and 29,667 families were residing in the county. According to

1248-574: The census. By that time, the economy had stabilized, but the East Texas Oil Field , extending into five counties, has continued to be important to the county and region's economy. This area was among early sections settled by United States immigrants before Texas became an independent republic, and after 1845, a state of the United States. It was an area developed as cotton plantations dependent on slave labor of African Americans. Lumbering of

1300-752: The company after it declared bankruptcy in 1915. The line was merged with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (SLIMS) and reorganized as the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1917. Missouri Pacific later acquired or gained a controlling interest in other lines in Texas, including the Gulf Coast Lines , International-Great Northern Railroad , and the Texas and Pacific Railway . The railroad's first heavy repair shops were built in Sedalia, Missouri in 1872. In 1905 several smaller shop sites were consolidated at Sedalia when

1352-525: The county population was 16,700, of whom 8,160, or 48%, were Black. Most were sharecroppers or tenant farmers raising cotton as a commodity crop. Members of the Negro Business League set up a cooperative store in Longview to compete with White merchants and offer African-American residents more choices for purchases. Beginning July 10, the town had a short-lived Longview Race Riot , in which one Black man

1404-627: The county was $ 35,006, and for a family was $ 42,617. Males had a median income of $ 33,186 versus $ 21,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 18,449. About 12.00% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the poverty line , including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over. By 2020, its median household income was $ 52,027 with a mean income of $ 73,022. These school districts serve Gregg County: Areas in Gladewater, Kilgore, Longview, Pine Tree, Sabine, Spring Hill, and White Oak ISDs (in other words, all of

1456-573: The end of 1929 (after C≠, PVS and TSL had become subsidiaries) and 2,033 at the end of 1960. In the early years of the 20th century, most Missouri Pacific and St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern passenger trains were designated by number only, with little emphasis on premier name trains. This changed in May, 1915, with the inauguration of the Scenic Limited between St. Louis, Kansas City, and San Francisco . Between Pueblo, Colorado and Salt Lake City ,

1508-657: The first such train inaugurated in 1940. These routes included the Missouri River Eagle (St. Louis-Kansas City-Omaha), the Delta Eagle ( Memphis, Tennessee - Tallulah, Louisiana ), the Colorado Eagle (St. Louis-Pueblo- Denver ), the Texas Eagle (St. Louis to Texas ), and the Valley Eagle ( Houston - Corpus Christi - Brownsville, Texas ). Other notable MoPac trains operated included: Missouri Pacific gained

1560-507: The gas-rich Jurassic Haynesville Shale has become the target of exploration and production. Several early attempts were made to produce oil in the area, beginning in 1911, with the failed Millville Oil Company, but drilling technology had not progressed sufficiently to reach oil at the depths it is found there, which are mainly below 3,501 feet (1,067 m); most early wells ended in broken bits, dry holes, and bankrupt operators. Finally, an enterprising Alabama man, Columbus Marion Joiner ,

1612-579: The northeast states through the Big Inch. In the middle of the 20th century, the East Texas Oil Field was the center of a slant-hole scandal. Some unscrupulous operators had drilled slanted holes from across their lease lines into the productive portions of the Woodbine formation. Inspectors found 380 deviated wells and shut them down with the assistance of the Texas Rangers . An estimated $ 100 million worth of oil

East Texas Oil Field - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-588: The old shops were closed and moved to a new site along Marshall Avenue. The MoPac began using the Baring Cross Shops of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway in North Little Rock , Arkansas in 1882. A fire in 1900 caused them to be rebuilt on a larger scale that would ultimately become the primary MoPac shop site (now known as the Downing B. Jenks Shops). Minor locomotive repairs were carried out at

1716-537: The pine forests was also pursued, especially in the early years of clearing the land for cultivation. Gregg County was organized in 1873 after the American Civil War from portions of existing counties. When the Texas State Legislature convened in January 1873, Democratic representative B. W. Brown of Upshur County introduced a bill to create a new county from parts of Harrison , Rusk , and Upshur Counties. He

1768-401: The population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 54.77% non-Hispanic white, 20.10% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.30% Asian alone, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.24% some other race, 3.86% multiracial, and 19.35% Hispanic or Latino of any race, reflecting nationwide demographic diversification. In 2000, median income for a household in

1820-604: The presence of a sizeable black population has permitted the Democrats to gain a quarter of the countywide total at virtually every election. Nonetheless, Gregg was one of only 16 Texas counties to vote for Barry Goldwater in his 1964 definitive loss, and the last Democrat to carry the county was Harry S. Truman in 1948. 32°29′N 94°49′W  /  32.48°N 94.81°W  / 32.48; -94.81 Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad ( reporting mark MP ), commonly abbreviated as MoPac ,

1872-806: The school districts covering sections of the county) are in the Kilgore Junior College zone. Gregg County is part of the Tyler / Longview / Jacksonville DMA. Local media outlets are: KLTV , KTRE-TV , KYTX-TV , KFXK-TV , KCEB-TV , and KETK-TV . The Longview News-Journal is the primary newspaper in the county, published in Longview. Coverage of the area can also be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph , based in Tyler, in Smith County . The Gladewater Mirror has been published since 1949, first as

1924-423: The second did show gas below 1,400 feet (430 m). Joiner employed the driller Ed Laster for the third well, which was spudded in May 1929, only 375 feet (114 m) from the second site. Only about 100 metres (330 ft) separated the second site from the first site. On 20 July 1930, Laster took a core sample at 3,411 feet (1,040 m), which showed 9 inches (23 cm) of oil sand. On 5 September 1930,

1976-565: The small Central Branch Railway (an early predecessor of MP in Kansas and south-central Nebraska), and joint ventures such as the Alton and Southern Railroad (AS). Missouri Pacific was under the control of New York financier Jay Gould from 1879 until his death in 1892. Gould developed a system extending through Colorado , Nebraska , Arkansas , Texas , and Louisiana . His son George Gould inherited control upon his father's death, but lost control of

2028-511: The southwest. When new streamlined trains were delivered, the Scenic Limited and Rainbow Special names faded, but the Sunshine Special had sufficient name recognition to co-exist along with the new streamliners into the late 1950s. In the streamliner era, the Missouri Pacific's premier passenger trains were collectively known as the Eagles . A variety of Eagle trains were operated, with

2080-461: The terminals in St. Louis and Kansas City . MoPac declared bankruptcy again in 1933, during the Great Depression , and entered into trusteeship . The company was reorganized and the trusteeship ended in 1956. By the 1980s, the system owned 11,469 miles (18,458 km) of rail line over 11 states bounded by Chicago to the east, Pueblo, Colorado , in the west, north to Omaha , south to

2132-630: Was a major hauler of coal, grain, ore, autos, dry goods and shipping containers . At the time of its mega-merger in 1982, the MoPac owned more and newer locomotives and operated more track than partner Union Pacific Railroad . On December 22, 1982, the Missouri Pacific was purchased by the Union Pacific Corporation and combined with the Western Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad to form one large railroad system. The new entity

East Texas Oil Field - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-615: Was broken at St. Louis on the Pacific Railroad , the predecessor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The first section of track was completed in 1852; in 1865, it was the first railroad in Kansas City , after construction was interrupted by the American Civil War . In 1872, the Pacific Railroad was reorganized as the Missouri Pacific Railway by new investors after a railroad debt crisis. Because of corporate ties extending back to

2236-589: Was called Pacific Rail Systems; though part of the Union Pacific Corporation, all three railroads maintained their own corporate and commercial identity. On December 1, 1989, the Missouri Kansas Texas and the Galveston, Houston & Henderson were merged into the Missouri Pacific after having been acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation in 1988. By 1994, all motive power of the Missouri Pacific

2288-626: Was created, it first consisted of about 143 square miles (370 km ) taken from Upshur County, and the Sabine River was its southern boundary. In April 1874, about 141 square miles (370 km ) south of the Sabine River in Rusk County was added to Gregg County. The third portion, of about 145 square miles (380 km ) to be taken from Harrison County, was never realized. Many of its voters continued to elect Republicans to county offices. By 1919,

2340-560: Was discovered near Joinerville, between Henderson, Texas (Rusk County) and Kilgore (mostly in southwest Gregg County). And shortly after, oil was discovered within Gregg County, near Pine Tree/East Mountain (Lathrop No 1). Suddenly, the county economy was booming, and the East Texas Oil Field attracted so many workers that county population increased by more than 500% by 1940. Growth stabilized, but oil has continued to be important. County demographics changed as other workers were attracted to

2392-464: Was killed, and several Black-owned homes and properties were burned. It was quelled when the sheriff asked for Texas National Guard and other law enforcement. They established a curfew and military occupation. Agricultural work declined during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and many African Americans continued to leave in the Great Migration north to find other work. In October 1930, oil

2444-535: Was likely trying to break up the black majority that dominated county politics in Harrison County. Under Brown's proposal, the county was to be named Roanoke, and Longview was to be the county seat. The proposed name was later changed to honor Texas leader and Confederate General John Gregg, and the county seat was determined by popular election. Harrison and Rusk Counties resisted efforts to have portions of their territory assigned to Gregg County. When Gregg County

2496-463: Was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River . MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad operated 9,041 miles of road and 13,318 miles of track, not including DK&S , NO&LC , T&P , and its subsidiaries C&EI and Missouri-Illinois . Union Pacific Corporation , the parent company of

2548-518: Was placed in service in July 1921 between Kansas City and Little Rock. The Sunshine Special soon eclipsed the other trains in travel volume, becoming the signature train of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. An advertising slogan in 1933 proclaimed: " It's 70-degrees in the Sunshine when it's 100-degrees in the shade ," referring to the fact that the Sunshine Special was one of the first air-conditioned trains in

2600-640: Was repainted and on January 1, 1997, the Missouri Pacific was officially merged into the Union Pacific Railroad by the Union Pacific Corporation. UP continued to use the MoPac headquarters building at 210 N. 13th St. in downtown St. Louis for its customer service center until February 15, 2005. The former MoPac building has undergone rehab as apartments and is now known as Park Pacific. In this table, "MP" includes New Orleans Texas & Mexico and all its subsidiary railroads (Beaumont Sour Lake & Western, I-GN, StLB&M, etc.) that officially merged into MP in 1956. Ton-miles for C&EI in 1970 presumably don't include

2652-500: Was stolen over several decades from legal owners. Today, the area remains a strong contributor to oil production in Texas. The significance of the region to Texas' overall production, however, has been tempered by the increase of drilling activity in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin . Since its discovery, the East Texas Oil Field has produced more than 5.2 billion barrels (830,000,000 m) of oil, and it originally contained more than 7 billion barrels (1.1 × 10 m). At

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2704-441: Was the first with enough persistence to succeed, and on October 3, 1930, his Daisy Bradford No. 3 well (named after the widow who owned the farm) hit oil at 3,536 feet (1,078 m) below ground surface. The well is located near the southeastern boundary of the oil field. This was the third well Joiner drilled, the first was abandoned at 1,098 feet (335 m) in February 1928, the second at 2,518 feet (767 m) in March 1929, but

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