[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 148 (Tuesday, December 5, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 SPINDLETOP OIL FIELD AND LUCAS GUSHER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NICK LAMPSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2000

  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the Texas State 
Spindletop 2001 Commission's celebration of the Centennial of the 
discovery of the Spindletop Oil Field and the Lucas Gusher. On January 
10, 2001, at 10:32 am, a permanent reproduction of the Lucas Gusher 
will blow, and the excitement of that moment will be reenacted.
  The Lucas Gusher, located just south of Beaumont, Texas, marked the 
beginning of the Petroleum Age. On January 10, 1901, a team of 
investors and drillers led by Captain Anthony F. Lucas discovered the 
greatest oil well ever seen. The area upon which the gusher was 
discovered, Spindletop Hill, was to produce more oil per day than the 
annual production of oil in the entire United States.
  The discovery of oil at Spindletop drastically changed the country's 
economy. Within days thousands of speculators, sightseers and fortune 
seekers swarmed into the small town as news of the discovery spread. By 
1902, hundreds of active wells were operating. The vast quantities of 
oil found at Spindletop first made possible the use of oil as an 
inexpensive, lightweight and efficient fuel to propel the world into 
the twentieth century.
  On January 10, 2001, I will be present at the Spindletop celebration, 
and be presenting a copy of this Congressional Record statement. 
Celebrating and honoring the beginning of a new age for the world is 
altogether fitting and appropriate and deserves the House of 
Representative's recognition.

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