Early boom ignites oil hysteria

- Montour et al -

If you'd like to see a completely over the top reaction to an oil boom, look at the September 30, 1937 issue of the Sweetwater Reporter on The Portal to Texas History site. 

Along with sensational headlines (NEW GUSHER BOOMS ROTAN) and claims of how oil will make everything shiny and new, this forty page document is a rich collection of historical information, much of it regarding Rotan and Fisher County.

In this special Oil and Progress Edition of the publication, a frenzy of articles was unleashed after the discovery of the Montour, Abrahamson & Largent well in Fisher County. It was a 13,000 barrel "gusher" in the Robinson Pool.

Something interesting to note on page 18 is an article titled "Gas pressure determines life of many oil fields" that states "Wells in the Rotan field produce oil from gas pressure, and are not equipped with pumps."

There's a lot of information covered in the articles, along with photos and ads. Technical as well as entertaining writing makes this a well-rounded historical source.

On page 28, Elliott Howard, claiming to be a former director of the Rotan State Bank and Rotan citizen since 1890, said that the Rotan townsite was where three ranches, the O-Bar-O, Pitchfork, and Hitson, once converged.

The advent of electric and telephone service and many well-known businesses and buildings are documented in this newspaper.

Photo credit: The Sweetwater Reporter via The Portal to Texas History