The Osage Oilfield

The Osage Oilfield was the first large producing oil field in Weston County. The first oil well drilled here and put into commercial production was the discovery well drilled by the Sinclair Oil Company in 1919. It was immediately sold to Alliance Oil Company and produced most of the oil in the county until the end of World War II. , Oil came from shallow wells drilled into the Lower Cretaceous age Muddy Sandstone Member of the Thermopolis Formation with depths ranging from a few hundreds feet to over a thousand feet. The oil was considered a light grade, a high percentage of which could be refined into gasoline. The Osage Field has experienced several phases to extraction methods with primary and secondary methods of recovery. An organized water flood technique was put into operation in the late 1950s and early 1960s. , The Osage Oil boom brought many workers and fortune seekers into Weston County in the early part of the 20th Century. The field produced many skilled oilfield workers, which helped Weston County develop other producing fields within the County. Oil in more remote locations of Weston County was refined locally and transported to other markets by railcars and pipeline. , During the great Depression of the 1930s, the county government was unable to collect property taxes from the local businesses, individuals and ranches. Many ranches and businesses would have failed if pressed for property taxes at that time. The mineral taxes on the Osage field production were the reliable source of county income during that period. , Other oilfields in the county were developed after World War II and the Osage Oilfield is still in production.