Louisiana Strikes Oil!

Before it was an oil field, it was a rice field, and the gas bubbling up through it belonged to Jules Clement, a French-speaking farmer. He leased the land to the Heywood brothers and ended up a millionaire by today's standards. The crude went mostly for industrial fuel within about a hundred miles, firing rice and cane operations, and barges carried it down the Mermentau River. The rush also brought fires, wasteful gushers and earthen pits for the surplus, which were later used for saltwater and left contaminated soil.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Louisiana Oil and Gas Park — 5.1 mi
  The roadside park at Jennings where Louisiana's oil industry began in 1901, with a replica derrick, a pioneers' plaque and Gator Chateau.
• Prairie Acadian Cultural Center — 18 mi
  A National Park Service center in Eunice on the Cajun prairie, with exhibits on the Acadians who settled the prairies, a Courir de Mardi Gras display, free music and cooking demonstrations, and the shuttered Liberty Theatre nearby.
• Coushatta Powwow and Koasati Heritage Day — 24 mi
  The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana's annual powwow and its free Koasati Heritage Day, held at the tribe's resort in Kinder.

More markers nearby

• Le Premier Puits de Pétrole — 5.1 mi
• David L. & Jeanette Ross May House — 13 mi
• Crowley (North Parkerson Avenue) — 13 mi
• Salmon Lusk Wright — 13 mi