On February 23, 1906, a small town in southeast Kansas found itself in the nation’s limelight as a natural gas well erupted into flames after a lightning strike. The “Caney, Kansas gas well fire” was actually located just over the state line in “Indian Territory” (soon to be Oklahoma).  Many varieties of postcards were created for the burning gas well and captioned with the Kansas towns of Caney, Coffeyville, Independence, and Bartlesville, OK.  Gas rates were estimated as high as 70 million cubic feet a day.  The “largest gas well in the world” burned for over four weeks.  One postcard, dated March 18, 1906, bears the note:  “Come and see the wonderful well.  It’s still burning.  It shook the ground so last night the window rattled.  We are 4 miles from it.”

SPENCER, Jeff A., and TAYLOR, Andy, 2007, The 1906 Caney gas well fire, Kansas, Oil-Industry History, v. 8, , p. 61-67.

SPENCER, Jeff A., 2012, The 1906 Caney gas well fire, Kansas: addendum, Oil-Industry History, v. 13, p. 149-150.

 

Visit http://www.petroleumhistory.org for more information about the 2016 Oil History Symposium in Casper, WY, July 28-30th.

At the symposium, learn more about the Teapot Dome scandal and visit the Salt Creek oil field and museum.

On August 15, 1931, Texas governor Ross Sterling ordered the East Texas oilfield shut down to stop illegal oil production and to prevent waste.  Along with the Texas Rangers, 1200 Texas National Guard troops patrolled the East Texas oil fields.  Well-known oilfield photographer Jack Nolan (1889-1972) produced real photo postcards (RPPCs) of at least eight different views associated with the troops; four are shown here.  Nolan produced many other RPPCs of oilfield views from both East and West Texas oilfields.

For more on Nolan:

SPENCER, J.A., 2009, Jack Nolan – East Texas oilfield photographer, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 59, p. 723-728.

SPENCER, Jeff A., 2011, Oilfield photographers – three who captured North American oil booms, Frank Robbins, Frank Trost, and Jack Nolan, Oil-Industry History, v. 12, p. 45-57.

SPENCER, Jeff A., 2013, Texas Oil and Gas, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 128 pp.

The same postcard image was often produced in black & white and various colorized versions.  The same view would also be used by different cities.  These four images of an oil gusher are assumed to be from the Lima-Indiana oilfield and captions cover the Ohio towns of Lima, Bowling Green, and Celina.  Looking close at the Celina caption, you can see where “Lima” was scratched off and the “Celina” was added below.  Similarly, the first Bowling Green postcard was originally a “Lima” postcard also.  For perhaps the record shared postcard image, used in five different states by over 15 towns:

MANNING, Victoria, and SPENCER, Jeff A., 2014, Greetings from oil country: shared images of a burning oil tank across five states, Oil-Industry History, v. 15, p. 21-35.

Also entertaining is the poem written on the right-hand margin of the black & white Lima postcard, dated and postmarked in October, 1907.

“When wells are drilled in the ground. Until the gas and oil is found. With glycerin they shoot it hard. It looks just like this postal card.  Papa 10-11-07”

 

Help me out here!  I often obtain great oilfield images with no identification of the location.  Often just a well name or company name.  Two of these postcards also have a photographer name.

 

Shortly after the discovery of Louisiana’s first oil field, Jennings (Evangeline), in nearby Acadia Parish (1901), companies began looking at other topographical highs that would point to underlying salt domes. Welsh was one of these. The first well was drilled in late 1901 and in 1902 a well blew out. The first oil producer was brought on line in 1903.

“The brainchild of Postmaster General James A. Farley, Air Mail Week encouraged every U.S. citizen to send an airmail letter during the celebration. The campaign had a catchy slogan: “Receive To-morrow’s mail to-day!” and a new six-cent airmail stamp featuring a spiffy eagle. There were essay and poster contests (child star Shirley Temple even entered the children’s competition), and rousing speeches. The Boy Scouts, college fraternities, civil, fraternal, and veteran organizations were all asked to pitch in. Each town across the nation was invited to create its own cachet, a commemorative design or slogan that would be printed on the envelopes mailed on May 19, the highlight of the celebration. On that Thursday, airmail service would be provided to even the most remote locations, when pilots all over the country were asked to donate their services, and be sworn in as government employees for 24 hours”.

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/a-flying-success-11458339/?no-ist

The United States Post Office Department formally established domestic air mail service on May 15, 1918.   For the next eight years, all air mail was flown on government owned and operated airplanes.  On February 2, 1925, Congress passed the “Kelly Act” which resulted in the conversion of airmail from a government service to a commercial service, known as CAMs (Contract Air Mail).  The first two CAM routes, CAM-6 and CAM-7, started operations on February 15, 1926.   Many CAM routes were established and the contracts for the routes were awarded to many private air service companies.  After May, 1934, the routes became known simply as “air mail routes,” or AM’s (http://www.aerodacious.com/CAM.HTM).

The inauguration of a new air mail route often included ceremonies and souvenirs.  These included first flight covers (FFCs); a cancelled (postmarked) at the point of origin envelope with a special cachet describing the event.  The covers were occasionally signed by the pilot or the local postmaster.  Ideally, the cover should be back-stamped (on the reverse) at the place of arrival, proving that the covers were actually on the flight.  Associated with first flight events were airport dedications.  Envelopes with airport dedication cachet covers were also popular souvenirs.  

These three Louisiana petroleum-related examples are for the Monroe Gas Field (front and back; discovered in 1916), Jennings Oil Field (discovered 1901), and Shreveport (Caddo-Pine Island Field, 23 miles northwest, discovered in 1905.

 

SPENCER, Jeff and MILLER, Byron, 2001, 100 years of exploration and production at Jennings Field, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 51, p. 305-312.

 

SPENCER, Jeff A., and MILLER, Byron, 2003, Jennings Oil Field:  the start of Louisiana’s oil industry:  Oil Industry History, v. 4, p. 13-19.

 

SPENCER, Jeff A., 2013, Pennsylvania petroleum philatelic event covers, Oil-Industry History, v. 14, p. 43-48.

 

SPENCER, Jeff A., 2015, Oklahoma petroleum philatelic event covers, Oil-Industry History, v. 16, p. 123-128.