THE NORTH FIELD

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The oil industry dates its activities in North Central Texas from the beginning of commercial activity in the Petrolia field in north Clay County in 1904. Actually, however, active search for petroleum in this part of Texas has been in progress since the Civil War. Of course, the initial discoveries were purely accidental and were regarded as a detrimental factor in the search for a pure water supply. As time went on, the importance of petroleum resources became more apparent.

The first recorded indication of the presence of hydrocarbons in Montague County occurred in 1895 when a deposit of pure asphalt was found at a depth of 35 feet near Saint Jo in a well being drilled in search of water. The hole was filled up, however, because the drillers were not interested in asphalt at that time. These asphalt deposits were known to exist in both Cooke and Montague Counties and were used in the later years as a source of paving materials for roads.

In May 1901, E.P. Davis from Pennsylvania arrived in Montague County and assembled a block of leases in the east central part of the County. He drilled a test well for oil about two miles south of Saint Jo. This well was drilled by cable tools to a depth of 600 to 700 feet and consumed most of a year to complete drilling operations.

In April 1911, K.W. Kingdom came from Pennsylvania and leased several thousand acres of land in north Montague County, paying 10 cents per acre. His associates drilled a test well on the Wesley Robinson Farm, located three miles northeast of Nocona. This well was drilled with cable tools to a depth of about 2300 feet. No oil was found. Although not commercially viable, these early test wells caught the attention of the oil industry to the possibilities offered in the area.