Conroe Oil Field

One of the great petroleum areas of the Texas coastal region. Opened December 13, 1931, by the discovery well of George Strake (No. 1 South Texas Development Company), about 1.4 miles west of here. Initial daily flow: 15,000,000 cubic feet of gas, along with white gasoline. Strake's second well, a 900-barrel-a-day producer, and the Heep Oil Corp. No. 1 Freeman (both coming in during June 1932) proved existence of a large field. Fast-paced drilling ensued. In January 1933 Madeley No. 1, of Kansas Standard, came in as a wild well and on fire. TNT charges and tons of earth did not smother the fire; it burned about three months. Cratering spread to Harrison and Abercrombie well nearby, and that gushed out of control. In January 1934 a driller for Humble "killed the blowout," by using directional drilling for first time in coastal Texas. This saved the field. (The crater is 600 feet deep.) The Conroe field was the first in Texas to adopt 20-acre spacing, before this was mandatory under conservation rules. It has yielded over 400,000,000 barrels of oil; now produces at the yearly rate of 5,300,000 barrels. After the dramatic discovery here, Montgomery County developed eleven other oil fields, and has reserves for continuing production. (1967)

Conroe Oil Field is a historical marker in Conroe, Montgomery County, dedicated in 1967. It is one of 67 historical markers documented in Montgomery County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 165 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.2952, -95.3839 near Conroe. The nearest cataloged historic site is Koonce-Urech Cemetery (cemetery), about 1.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Crater Hill, Dry Creek-Crater, and Kidd (Conroe).

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5339007869. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.