The Old Oil Field of Humble and its Operation

The first sign of oil in Humble was found by a man named Slaughter. He was eating his lunch by the San Jacinto River when he noticed bubbles coming out of the water’s edge. Slaughter discovered that it was natural gas by lighting a match to it—and the Humble oil boom began. The Old Oil Field of Humble and Its Operation is a pictorial history of the oil field in Humble, Texas, which was active from 1905 to the 1940s. With photographs, narrative, and drawings, Dr. Braddick describes the equipment that was used to drill the wells and in the production of oil—much of which was invented and built on site. He describes how the oil field equipment was used, the manner in which the wells were drilled, and even the operation of the oil field production. The collected photos include old oil pumps and storage tanks that were left abandoned in the woods for nearly sixty years. Readers who are interested in Texas history, engineering, and oil field equipment will be amazed at this glimpse into the past that made Humble the city it is today. Read more