The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947 Page: 47
582 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Electra, A Texas Oil Town
said to have made a strong flow of oil before the owners barri-
caded the site with a barbed wire fence and placed a guard
over it. The townspeople were kept in the dark as to oil's hav-
ing been discovered there until after the Clayco No. 1, Wood-
ruff-Putnam, a wildcat test one mile northwest from the center
of the town, blew itself in on April 1, 1911, setting off an oil
boom which not only brought wealth and fame to Electra but
has contributed abundantly to the material resources of the
southwestern part of the United States.
The sand from which the discovery well made its spectacular
performance was found at 1,600 feet, but within a year, five
distinct sands had been developed. In 1946, the Electra oil
fields, pronounced the most outstanding in Texas because of the
longevity of the wells, are producing from twenty or more levels
ranging from "grass roots" sands around 350 feet to the famous
Ellenberger lime from 4,000 to 5,000 feet.
The town followed the usual pattern of oil booms in phenom-
enal growth, but because of the fact that with the waning of old
pools, new pools have been discovered and developed from time
to time, it maintained its place in the ranks of the oil industries
as the following statistics will show: the Electra area has four
major pipe lines gathering oil from a district in which approx-
imately 8,500 wells have been drilled since 1911, five gasoline
plants, a refinery which produced millions of gallons of aviation
gasoline for the government during World War II, two cracking
plants, twelve oil field supply houses, a steel tank manufacturing
plant, five machine shops capable of making and servicing all
sorts of oil field equipment, six welding shops and all necessary
facilities such as pipe line and construction machinery-pro-
ducing a monthly pay roll of more than $400,000 from oil and
its affiliated industries.
Transportation facilities include one railroad, two bus lines,
state and federal highways, and more paved and graveled roads
within Precinct No. 4, Wichita County (in which Electra is the
only town) than in many populous counties.
Four brick school buildings, eleven churches, civic clubs, fra-
ternal organizations, USO, and headquarters for a fully organ-
ized and fully staffed company of Texas State Guard serve the
town.
Bank deposits at the end of 1945 totaled $2,645,441.11. Postal
receipts at the attractive federal government-owned post office
were $41,545.89. The community went over the top on its quota
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947, periodical, 1947; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101117/m1/63/?rotate=90: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.