Texas Almanac, 1939-1940 Page: 228
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THE TEXAS ALMANAC.-1939.
-o
Loading sulphur at Newgulf, Texas. The wall of sulphur at the left was built up by
allowing the molten mineral, forced from wells by superheated water, to solidify behind walls
which were later removed.
Miscellaneous Nonmetallic Minerals.SULPHUR.
Texas sulphur deposits exist in porous
limestone formations that lie at the tops of
some of the great salt domes underneath the
surface of the Coastal Prairies. The coastal
sulphur field was discovered in 1870 by a com-
pany drilling for oil in Calcasieu Parish,
Louisiana.
Capt. A. F. Lucas,.discoverer of the Spindle-
top oil field, also discovered the first notable
sulphur deposit in Texas, Bryan Mound in
Brazoria County, in 1901. Subsequently a num-
ber of other similar deposits were found.
At first the unique position of the coastal
sulphur deposits defied exploitation. Eventual-
ly a method was developed by Herman
Frasch whereby superheated water was
forced into the porous limestone formation,
melting the sulphur and forcing it to the sur-
face.
At the surface the sulphur is carried in
liquid form to giant vats at the shipping
points, where it is discharged from the pipes
and allowed to solidify. These vats when
completed are solid blocks of sulphur, usual-
ly approximately 80 feet wide, 30 to 40
feet high and from 600 to 1,200 feet long. Sul-
phur is left in this state until ready for
shipment, when cars are loaded with steam
shovel, after the sulphur has been blown by
explosives from the side of the block. The
first sulphur company operating in Texas was
the Freeport Sulphur Company, which has
extensive sulphur operations in Brazoria
County, shipping largely through Freeport.
The Gulf Sulphur Company operates in Mata-
gorda and Wharton Counties, Gulf and New-
gulf being the principal industrial centers.
There is also production from a salt dome inDuval County by the Texas Duval Sulphur
Company. A fourth Texas company, the Jef-
ferson Lake Oil Company, began producing
sulphur in 1937. There is some sulphur found
in Reeves and Culberson Counties and sev-
eral attempts have been made to develop
these resources, but there has been no pro-
duction.
Because of its wide use in the chemical
industries, sulphur is of great significance to
the future industrial development of Texas.
As an ingredient of fertilizers and as an in.
secticide it has significance for the future
Texas agricultural and livestock industries
also. At present, however, only a small per
cent of Texas sulphur is used in this state,
most of it going into export trade and to the
industrial centers of the upper Atlantic sea*
board.
Production and value of Texas sulphur:
(In thousands.)
Prod'n Prod'n
Year. (tons). Val. Year. (tons). Val,
1902 ..... 7 * 1917 .....1,130 $26,000
1903 ..... 35 * 1918 .....1,367 29,000
1904 .... 193 * 1919 .....1,191 17,250
1905 .... 215 * 1920 .....1,255 26,000
1906 ..... 294 * 1921 .....1,879 34,500
1907 ..... 308 * 1922-28 .. *
1908 .... 30S * 1929 .....2,372 30,841
1909 ..... 298 * 1930 .....2,558 46,048
1910 .... 256 * 1931 .....2,130 38,333
1911.... 242 * 1932 ..... 858 15,767
1912 .... 304 * 1933 .....1,083 19,493
1913 ..... 12 $240 1934 .....1,303 23,448
1914 .... 342 * 1935 .....1,354 24,374
1915 .... 891 * 1936 .....1,724 28,562
1916 . -. 747 * 1937 .....2,030 36,546
*Reported in miscellaneous minerals to avoid
disclosing individual operations; value not re-
ported, except for 1913, prior to 1917.228
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Texas Almanac, 1939-1940, book, 1939; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117163/m1/230/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.