A New History of Old Texas
Explore the history of early Texas as you’ve never heard it before. The most recent season ("Lipan Apocalypse") unveils the legacy of the Lipan Apaches on modern Texas. Season 6 recounts the outsized impact of José Francisco Ruíz on the state's history. Season 5 traces the roots of Texans' unique psychology - their "Texanity" - to the technological innovations that shaped its people. Season 4 relates the largely unknown story of the Republic of the Rio Grande. Season 3 tells the remarkable tale of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his journey across the North American continent. Season 2 covers the Battle of Medina, the largest, bloodiest battle in Texas history...and the narrowing search for the battlefield itself! And Season 1 traces the identity of modern-day Texas to the first 160 years or so of San Antonio's history. -- As seen and heard on Texas Standard, KSAT12, Texas Public Radio, the San Antonio Express-News, the San Antonio Report, the Austin Chronicle, and more! --
A New History of Old Texas
Spindletop
Episode 7 of Brandon Seale's podcast on the Engines of Texas History.
Anthony Lucas's gusher at Spindletop marked "a new era of civilization," yet was the product of the humility, persistence, and practical genius of three Waco-area farm boys. Oil rapidly transformed the Texas economy from stubbornly agrarian and colonial into a first-world industrial power. For the first time in Texas history, Texans began to accumulate capital and were set on a countercyclical trajectory from the rest of the U.S. economy in a way that would only reinforce Texans' contrarian impulses.
Cover photo by John Trost, available online at the American Petroleum Institute.
Sources:
Linsley, Judith Walker, Ellen Walker Rienstra, Jo Ann Stiles. Giant Under the Hill: A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, TX in 1901 (2002).
Soday, Frank J. “The Petrochemical Industry.” The Analysts Journal, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Q3 1951): 17-24.
Spratt, John Stricklin. The Road to Spindletop: Economic Change in Texas, 1875-1901. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1955.
www.BrandonSeale.com