North Nocona Oil Field - Montague County Oil Discovery, 1922

The Handbook of Texas dates the county's first oil discovery to 1919, twelve miles north of Nocona. Production rose through the late 1920s, and in 1927 Montague County produced more than four million barrels, a figure it never surpassed; it averaged close to two million barrels a year for the next decade and a half, along with natural gas. Oil helped carry the county through the Depression. Its population, which had fallen from 25,122 in 1910 to about 19,000 in the early 1930s, rose from 19,159 in 1930 to 20,442 in 1940.

What the plaque says

Pennsylvania oil man George Williams, backed by Cad McCall, drilled for oil intermittently, 1918-22, beginning at Eagle Point (4.5 mi. SE). Leasing by individuals and major companies--including Phil Lesh, A.E. Humphrey, and the Texas Co.--kept rigs working. Gas blew in at 800-foot depth on J.W. Maddox-J.E. Lemons land, one well yielding over 100,000,000 cubic feet daily. The gas was piped to Nocona and rural homes. Oil was discovered in 1922 on Maddox site, at about 1,000 feet. Production continued at 1,000-2,000 feet, there and elsewhere. The gas caused trouble: a capped well blew mud from prairie dog holes and gas from water well a quarter-mile away. In 1925, a gas well on W.W. Jones land (2 mi. W) blew out a gigantic crater. Another well (.75 mi. W) caught fire, burned its rig, and was finally doused by nationally-famed oil well fire fighter Tex Thornton. With an estimated 100,000,000-barrel total on record, this 12,295-acre field still produces. (1972)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Stonewall Saloon Museum — 19 mi
  Saint Jo's first permanent building, a stone saloon of 1873 with rooms upstairs for trail drovers, in a town named, the story goes, as a joke on a founder who did not drink.

More markers nearby

• Site of the 1759 Taovayo Victory Over Spain — 5.3 mi
• Spanish Fort — 5.3 mi
• Red River Station — 6.8 mi
• First Baptist Church of Nocona — 9.3 mi