It was 118 years ago today the Lucas gusher at Spindletop struck oil in Beaumont. The
gusher blew for nine days at a rate of an estimated 100,000 barrels a day. Gulf Oil and
Texaco, now part of Chevron Corporation were formed to develop production at
Spindletop. Spindletop was the largest gusher in the world and catapulted Beaumont into
an oil-fueled boomtown. Beaumont’s population of 10,000 tripled in three months and
eventually rose to 50,000.