Texas Oil Boom Essay

Before Texas experienced its historical and great Oil Boom in 1901, Texas was deserted with only minor businesses in small towns and great acres of farm land. After the great Oil Boom first hit in Beaumont, the Texas landscape and the small towns in Texas changed dramatically. The oil industry grew rapidly and effected Texas and the people living in small towns economically, environmentally, and personally. Oil became the new “black gold” everyone wanted to get their hands on, but had its own price to pay no one expected. Before the great Oil Boom small towns such as Beaumont, were greatly affected by the rapid oil production. “In 1894, crews drilling for water in Corsicana struck oil instead. The result was chaos. So many wells were drilled …show more content…
The harmful and powerful odor of oil is truly detrimental and can cause many health issues. “In 1899, the state enacted the first laws regulating the industry, requiring operators to cap off wells to protect groundwater and to stop letting natural gas escape into the air…” (The Story of Texas) Especially if the oil has contaminated the town’s water resources can lead to serious health issues. As mentioned before the town of Beaumont did suffer from water contamination and had a shortage of clean water to drink from. Limited water resources forced the people to drink from lakes that were contaminated and later caused sever stomach cramps.
The personal effect mostly provoked oilfield workers and families to live and sleep in their vehicles or anywhere the people could find a safe place. People in the Oil Boom towns were living there to find work and “On November 1, 1917, approximately 10,000 Texas and Louisiana oilfield workers walked off the job to protest long hours and low pay…” (the Story of Texas) unfortunately, oil producers refused to accept federal authority and denied a higher pay for the oilfield workers. Living in the Oil Boom towns was overall an inhumane and infested place to live