Though early inhabitants remain undocumented, it is likely that
Paleo-Indians
lived on the land that became Reagan County. Spanish expeditions probably
traversed the area; local
Jumano Indians encouraged the
Spanish to establish
missions there on several occasions in the seventeenth century.
Kiowa and
Comanche Indians used the area as a hunting ground and later raided local
ranches, but it remained largely unsettled country until the nineteenth century.
An important source of water for prehistoric peoples and early travelers was
Grierson Springs, which once flowed substantially in southwestern Reagan County.
Spaniards probably discovered the springs in January 1684, when the expedition
of
Juan Domínguez de Mendoza arrived there and camped for two days. The
Comanches also used the springs as a campsite. In 1858 the Butterfield Overland
Mail missed the springs when planners drew its stage route along Centralia Draw
across the center of the county, but a source of fresh water was the first
consideration when an outpost for
Fort Concho was selected on April 30, 1878.
Both the springs and the camp were named in honor of Col. Benjamin H. Grierson,
who located the camp at the site.
Camp Grierson was part of the army's plan to
protect white society in the area from Indian attack and ultimately to eliminate
the Indians from Texas. At different times, companies D, E, and F of the
Tenth
Cavalry, Company K of the
Twenty-fifth Infantry, and Company K of the
Twenty-fourth Infantry were stationed there. The camp was abandoned in 1882 when
Grierson and his Tenth Cavalry were transferred from
Fort Concho to
Fort Davis.
On May 26, 1885, George W. Wedemeyer stopped at the springs and described the
camp as in ruins. P. H. Coates, whose family arrived in a train of seventeen
wagons in 1885, also camped at the springs. By the 1890s sheep and goat ranchers
had moved into the central area of the county near the homesite of another early
settler, Gordon Stiles, on Centralia Draw.

The Santa Rita #1 was spudded shortly before midnight on August
17,1921, on the last day before the 18-month drilling permit was to
expire. Progress was slow for driller Carl Cromwell, who also worked as
a tool dresser, derrick hand, roustabout, and fireman. Crews, when
available, consisted mostly of cowboy roustabouts who disliked the work
and were distinguished for high absenteeism and steady turnover.
Twenty-one slow-moving months were required to bring the well to
production. There were many delays common to cable-tool drilling at the
time. The slowness with which essential materials arrived coupled with
limited resources of the Texon Company also caused many delays. On more
than one occasion, the well was shut down and the crew laid off because
money was not available to pay salaries or buy casing and other needed
supplies.
Several months after drilling began, Frank Pickrell climbed to the top
of the derrick. He threw out the petals of a rose that a group of
Catholic women investors back in New York had given him. He christened
the well in the name of the patron Saint of the Impossible --- Santa
Rita.
On May 25,1923, oil and gas began to show on the surface. On May 28,
1923, a loud roar was heard and the Santa Rita #1 blew in. The well
would continue to head up daily, unloading about 100 bbls of oil each
time. People from surrounding towns as far away as Fort Worth would
travel to watch the well blow oil over the derrick.
After a month, casing and a packer finally arrived and
the first commercial well in the Permian Basin was put on production.
The Santa Rita #1 was eventually found to be on the edge of the
reservoir and future wells in the Big Lake Field produced at rates of
over 5,000 BOPD per well.
Santa Rita # 1 produced its first gusher on May 28, 1923. The well
sprayed oil over a 250-yard area around the site. After producing oil
for 67 years, the well in Reagan County, West Texas, was capped in May
1990.
CN# 00324, the Center for American History.
Pictured here is a replica of Santa Rita # 1 standing in the Reagan
County Park in Big Lake. The original rig was moved to the
University of Texas at Austin.
This has been a short history on the Santa Rita #1. The information on
this well was received from Marathon Oil Company. Both a brochure and
information from the Field Foreman was used.