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Photographer: Jim Evans
Taken: April 13, 2013
Caption: Spindletop Park -- the Actual Location of the Lucas Gusher
Additional Description:

This park is located at North 30° 00.718 West 94° 04.626.

Note gunbarrel behind park sign. The oil and salt water that comes out of the ground with it are put in the gunbarrel where the oil and water separate. The oil floats to the top or the water sinks to the bottom, however you like to think of it.

Though the Lucas Gusher was actually located here there's no plaque, no small monument, no flag no marker of any sort to indicate this. There's not even a sign on the main road showing where to turn off to reach this remote place.

A mile and a half north of here, at the museum, they make a big deal of the gusher that created Beaumont, made Texas "the oil state" and the U.S. the oil capital of the world but they seem to completely ignore the actual site of the world famous gusher. Well, they named the park Spindletop. But, Spindletop was the giant oil field that developed from gusher. They didn't name it Lucas park or something that indicates it's the famous place.

This is all completely baffling to me.

It had rained a day or so ago (see water in ditch behind sign) and I was wearing sandals, so I must confess I didn't walk across the squishy ground to see if one of the old pumpers had something on the far side of it.
Submitted: April 14, 2013, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas.
Database Locator Identification Number: p238808
File Size: 1.540 Megabytes

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