Texas Almanac, 1949-1950 Page: 284
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84TEXAS ALMANAC.-1949-1950.
and an actual low of 5c and 6c in some places.
The producers then resorted to a second and
voluntary shutdown. Continued state and
federal efforts. however, gradually curbed
the tlow of hot oil to a small figure and
brought the wells of the great oil field to a
relatively stable rate of production.
Stabilized Industry.
In 1934. the price was relatively stable at
an average of 95c and relative stability has
been maintained since that year. The price
of oil was affected by postwar Inflation, but
to less extent than most commodities. See
table on p. 278 for average annual prices.
This stability has been due in part to pro-
duction control but primarily to the steadi-
mess with which succeeding oil fields have
been brought in. No recent field has com-
pared with East Texas In productivity, but a
succession of large producers has been dis-
covered.
Major Fields, Discovery Dates.
Below is a tabulation of Texas oil fields
with an actual or estimated ultimate recovery
of crude in excess of 100,000,000 barrels. As
such they are classified by the oil industry
as major fields.
Name of Field, County and Discovery Date-
Powell, Navarro, 1900; Spindletop, Jeffer-
son. 1901; Sour Lake, Hardin, 1902; West
Colembia, Brazoria, 1902: Humble, Harris.
1985, Goose Creek, Harris. 1908; Barber's
Hill, Chambers, 1916; Hull, Liberty. 1918;
Panhande. Hutchinson-Gray-Carson. 1921;
Luling, Caldwell. 1922; Big Lake, Reagan.
1923; Howard-Glasscock Counties, 1925: Mc-
Camey, Upton. 1925; McElroy, Crane-Upton.
1926; Yates. Pecos. 1926; Government Wells,
Dural. 1928: North Ward, Ward-Winkler,
19v; Van, Kaufman. 1929; East Texas, Gregg-
Rusk-Upsh ur-Smlth. 1930; Keystone. Winkler,
smi0; North Cowden, Ector-Andrews, 1930;
Cknroe, Montgomery, 1931; KMA, Wichita,
L931; Thompson, Nueces. 1931; Greta, Re-
fugo, 1933: Hastings, Brazoria, 1934; Old
Ocean, Brazoria. 1934: Tom O'Connor, Re-
fuglo, 1934; Anahuac, Chambers, 1935; Gold-
smith. Ector, 1935; Foster, Ector, 1936; Hen-
dricks, Wlnkler, 1936; Seminole, Gaines. 1936;
Talco, Titus, 1936; Seeligson, Nueces. 1937;
Slaughter, Hockley-Cochran. 1937; Wasson,
Yoakum. 1937: Webster, Harris, 1937; West
Ranch, Jackson. 1938: Hawkins, Wood, 1940;
Fullerton Andrews 1941; Quitman, Wood,
1942; TXL. Ector, 1945: Benedum, Upton,
1947; North Snyder, Scurry, 194.
Coal and Lignite
the coal and lignite deposits of Texas are
Btte utilized today solely because of the
sbmedance of petroleum and natural gas.
However, they constitute a rese ve Luel sup-
I1 against the time of possible exhaustion of
the more fugitive oil and gas, or even their
depletion to the point where they will not ie
economically practicable as industrial fuel.
Coal.
Before oil and gas became the predominant
fuels as much as a million tons of coal (1908
to 1918) and two to four million tons of lignite
(19i7 to 1920) were produced annually. Coal
ies primarily in Wise, Jack, Palo Pinto,
Erath. Young, Coleman and some other North
Central and West Texas counties. There is
some production for local use at Strawn.
Bridgeport and Newcastle. all of which were
one-time coal-mining centers. Greatest produc-
tion of the past was from Thurber in ErathCounty, once a thriving mining city of 6.000
population, now a small village.
A deficiency of Texas coal is that it is not
adaptable to the production of coke because
of the large content of ash, sulphur and
other minerals. In 1947, 263.006 tons of coke
were produced In the ovens at Houston and
Daingerfield. and larger but unreported quan-
tities in 1948 and 1949. Production, however.
was principally from Oklahoma coal.
Lignite.
Sixty thousand tons of lignite were mined
in Texas, largely by strip mining method. in
1947. according to latest report of the Bureau
of Mines. In the last few years there have
been lignite mining opera ations at Bastrop,
Bastrop County. Alba. Wood County: Mar-
shall. Harrison County: Winfield. Titus Coun-
ty; Como, Hopkins County, Rockdale, Milam
County. Malakoff. Henderson County; and
a few othcr points.
Lignite is found primarily in two bands
extending across the state from the Rio
Grande to the East Texas border. The more
northerly passes through Maverick, Uvalde,
Medina. Bexar, Guadalupe. Caldwell. Bastrop,
Williamson. Lee. Milam. Robertson. Falls,
Leon. Limestone. Freestone, Anderson. Hen-
derson Van Zandt. Rains. Wood, Franklin.
Hopkins, Titus and Bowie Counties. The
soutnerly band passes through Starr, Zapata,
Webb. La Salle. McMullen. Atascosa, Wilson.
Gonzales. Favette. Bastrop, Lee. Burleson.
Brazos Grimes, Madison. Houston. Angelina.
San Augustine and Sabine. In addition, lig-
nite is round in a group of Intervening coun-
ties including Panola. Harrison. Marron,
Gregg, Rusk and Shelby. In fact, lignite is
found generally throughout East Texas in
mall quantities but the foregoing counties
have s principal deposits. Cannel coal exists
in considerable quantities and nas been mined
in Maverick and Webb Counties.
The amount of coal and lignite reserves is
not known but it is estimated that there are
60,000 square miles of lignite territory with
a supply Jf upward of 30 billion tons of
commercially usable lignite. It has also been
estimated that there are about eight billion
tons of coal available.
Coal was discovered In Texas at an early
date, according to H. B. Stenzel in the vol-
ume. "Texas Mineral Resources," published
by the Bureau of Economic Geology at the
University of Texas. In 1818 a map published
in Paris. I rance, showed a coal mine in East
Texas and production and use was started
about 1856.
There will be relatively little utilization of
coat or lignite so long as oil and natural gas
are abundant enough and cheap enough to be
utilizable as industrial fuel. There are possi-
thilitles in the use of coal as a raw material
In the chemical industries.
There is a plant in Harrison County produc-
Ing activated carbon. Lignite has been used
successfully min recent years as a powdered
fuel for the production of electric energy.
notably at the Texas Power & Light Com-
pany's Trinidad plant. This and one or two
other plants operated successfully for a num-
ber of years, but changed to natural gas and
in all instances plan to return to lignite when
and if natural gas rises above its present
relatively very low value on heat-unit basis.
(See p. 269 for figures on production and
value )typographers
O earle y1004 comp . dallas * p7-1363
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Texas Almanac, 1949-1950, book, 1949; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117167/m1/286/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.