Spindletop Capital is proud of our namesake. “At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Southeast Texas economy, like that of most of the South, relied on subsistence agriculture, but cattle ranching and the lumber business were also important. Large ranches sent cattle to New Orleans, and mills in Beaumont and Orange produced lumber for shipment to the rest of America and overseas. Southeast Texas had another resource – oil – but the amount underground remained a mystery. The Spindletop oilfield, discovered on a salt dome formation south of Beaumont in easternJefferson County on January 10, 1901, marked the birth of the modern petroleum industry. The discovery of the Spindletop oilfield had an almost incalculable effect on world history, as well as Texas history. Eager to find similar deposits, investors spent billions of dollars throughout the Lone Star state in search of oil and natural gas. The cheap fuel they found helped to revolutionize American transportation and industry. By 1902, there were more than 500 Texas corporations doing business in Beaumont. Many of the major oil companies were born at Spindletop or grew to major corporate size as a result of their involvement at Spindletop. The Texas Company (later Texaco), Gulf Oil Corporation, Sun Oil CompanY, Magnolia Petroleum CompanY, and Humble (later Exxon CompanY, U.S.A.) were a few of the major corporations. ” https://www.facebook.com/centerhistoryculture/videos/jim-parsons-spindletop/529854504541504/