page_title: History of the Galveston Bay Area
section_title: The wars and the oil boom
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Galveston Bay Area / The wars and the oil boom
caption_attribution_description: English: The Lucas Gusher at Spindletop Hill, South of Beaumont, Texas, United States
context_page_description: For a period of over 7000 years, humans have inhabited the Galveston Bay Area in what is now the United States. Through their history the communities in the region have been influenced by the once competing sister cities of Houston and Galveston, but still have their own distinct history. Though never truly a single, unified community, the histories of the Bay Area communities have had many common threads.
  Prior to European settlement the area around Galveston Bay was settled by the Karankawa and Atakapan tribes, who lived throughout the Gulf coast region. Spanish and French explorers traveled the area for many years gradually establishing trade with the local natives. In the early 19th century the pirate Jean Lafitte created a small, short-lived empire around the bay ruled from his base on Galveston Island before his being ousted by the United States Navy.
  Following Mexico's independence from Spain, the new nation established long-term settlements, including Anahuac and San Jacinto, around the bay.
context_section_description: The sparsely populated communities around the bay transformed during the 20th century. Following the devastating 1900 hurricane, donations by the newly created Red Cross, including millions of strawberry plants to Gulf Coast farmers, helped revive area communities. This and the subsequent establishment of a major strawberry farm in the area by Texaco founder Joseph S. Cullinan made Pasadena an important fruit producer for many years afterward. The newly established community of Texas City opened its port and railroad junctions shipping cotton and grain. In fact, because the port had opened just before the 1900 hurricane, it was able to handle Galveston's diverted shipping traffic until the island's damaged port was repaired. Following another hurricane in 1915, the Texas City Dike was built to protect the Texas City ship channel from sediment movement in future storms, thus helping to build confidence in the safety of the port. One of the most immediate effects of the dike, however, was to increase the salt levels in West Bay, between Galveston and the southwest coastline.
  Major tracts of the Allen Ranch were liquidated opening up new development around Pasadena and other bayside communities. Commercial fishing for oysters and shrimp grew as a significant area industry. The lumber industry also continued to grow. A sugar refinery opened in Texas city, a paper mill in Pasadena, and other factories in the early 20th century.
  Following the petroleum discovery at Spindletop (roughly 40 miles (64 km) from Galveston Bay) in 1901 Texas entered an era of economic development known as the Texas Oil Boom. Petroleum exploration at Galveston Bay began shortly afterward with the discovery of the Goose Creek Oil Field in 1903. The first well at Goose Creek was built in 1907 with significant production beginning in 1908 (in 1924 it was the state's third largest field). In 1915 the first offshore oil drilling site in the state was opened at Goose Creek. Gradually other oil fields were discovered around the bay as well, including the Anahuac oil field in 1935. The first refinery by the bay was built in 1908 at Texas City, followed by refineries in Baytown and Pasadena. The main refinery in Baytown, built by Humble Oil (now ExxonMobil), became the largest in the state.
  The wealth brought on by the boom transformed the region. The population increased rapidly due to significant immigration from within the United States, from Mexico, and overseas. Mexicans, fleeing the Mexican Revolution in 1910, added significantly to the population of what is now Baytown; Sicilian immigrants added greatly to the community of Dickinson; and Japanese rice farmers settled in Webster, Pasadena, and League City (in fact the rice industry on the U.S. Gulf Coast was born in Webster; see Seito Saibara). Major manufacturing centers developed throughout the Bay Area with Houston acting as the corporate and financial center for the boom. Wealthy Houstonians created waterfront retreats in Morgan's Point and a boardwalk amusement park at Sylvan Beach, La Porte (together known at the time as the Texas "Gold Coast"), as well as summer homes at Seabrook and other communities. The onset of Prohibition made Galveston Bay an important entry point for smuggling illegal liquor, which supplied most of Texas and much of the Midwest. Boats arrived at locations ranging from Galveston to Seabrook. The Maceo crime syndicate, which operated in Galveston at that time, created casino districts in Kemah and Dickinson and other areas of Galveston County. Houstonians often humorously referred to the county line as the "Maceo-Dickinson line" (a pun referring to the Mason-Dixon line). Much of the area around Clear Lake was developed as recreational properties for the wealthy, including a large ranch estate owned by Houston businessman James West. Though the Great Depression closed many businesses in the area petroleum-related growth helped offset the effects.
  During the World Wars, factories around the bay were pressed into service mass-producing a variety of products including aviation fu
caption: The gusher at Spindletop in 1901, which was soon followed by Goose Creek.
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