Near Oil City in Caddo Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

Caddo Lake

Photographed by Jason Armstrong, February 27, 2021

1. Caddo Lake Marker

Inscription. Before white men came to the area, North Caddo was the rich forestland of the Kadohadacho, or Caddo, Indians. In 1904, the first oil well in North Louisiana was drilled. The resulting "Oil Rush" brought hysteria to the once peaceful and serene hunting grounds of the Caddo Indians. Oil City became the first "Boomtown" in the Ark-La-Tex region. In May 1911, Ferry Lake No. 1 was drilled in the Caddo Lake bed and was one of the few over-water oil wells in the world.

Today, Oil City is a Louisiana historical site featuring three historic boomtown buildings and numerous outdoor exhibits. Across the street from the city's old Kansas City Southern Railroad Depot, which is now a museum is the new 12,000 square foot Louisiana State Oil and Gas Museum. A division of the Secretary of State's Museum Program, the Louisiana State Oil and Museum is locally governed by the Caddo-Pine Island Oil and Historical Society.

Erected by 4th grade students of Oil City Environmental Magnet School, Learn and Serve America.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.

Location. 32° 43.636′ N,

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93° 58.341′ W. Marker is near Oil City, Louisiana, in Caddo Parish. It is on Williamson Parkway ¼ mile west of State Route 1, on the left when traveling west. Located on the first loop of Earl G Williamson Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11425 LA-1, Oil City LA 71061, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Louisiana.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Over Water Oil Well (about 700 feet away); Trees City Office & Bank (approx. one mile away); Boom or Bust Byway (approx. one mile

Photographed by Jason Armstrong, February 27, 2021

2. Caddo Lake

away); Oil City (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge (approx. 2.4 miles away); Potter's Point (approx. 7.3 miles away in Texas); Caddo Indian Dugout Canoe (approx. 8.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oil City.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 1, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 30, 2021, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. This page has been viewed 590 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 31, 2021, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.