Thar she blows! Spindletop celebrates 115th birthday

The nation’s first oil boom happened deep in the heart of Texas (actually more like along the southeast coast) and this year the Spindletop gusher, located just outside Beaumont, celebrates its 115th anniversary of the Lucas Gusher discovery that changed the way we use energy. When the gusher blew on Jan. 10, 1901, the flow was so intense, oil spewed forth for nine days before the well could be capped.

The Spindletop Gladys City/Boomtown Museum will celebrate the anniversary of the Lucas Gusher discovery on Jan. 9, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Spindletop Anniversary Celebration. Re-enactors will take visitors back to the early days of the oil rush town with demonstrations and craft-making of blacksmithing, butter churning, soap-making and more and there will be live entertainment and an old-fashioned “drillers’ lunch.” Of course the day won’t be complete without the blowing of the Lucas Gusher.

The celebration continues into the next day, with free admission to the Boomtown Museum all day on Jan. 10.
            For more information, visit http://www.spindletop.org/.