Glenn Pool Oil Reserve
The discovery of the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in 1905 brought the first major oil pipelines into Oklahoma, and instigated the first large scale oil boom in the state. Located near what was—at the time—the small town of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the resultant establishment of the oil fields in the area contributed greatly to the early growth and success of the city, as Tulsa became the petroleum and transportation center of the state, and the world. During the boom, several Creek Indian land allotment owners became millionaires; Oklahoma became the world's largest oil producer for years; and the area benefited from the generation of more wealth than the California Gold Rush and Nevada Silver Rush combined, as well as the increased investment capital and industrial infrastructure the boom brought with it. The town of Glenpool, Oklahoma was founded in 1906 as a direct result of the oil reserve's discovery. History Background Oil speculation was already rampant in the Tulsa region following the Red Fork discovery in 1901. One of the early successes was Galbreath's 125 barrel per day well, northeast of Red Fork. On 3 July 1901, Galbreath camped on the Glenn farm, when Bob Glenn showed Galbreath a limestone outcrop with traces of oil. Further progress awaited federal approval of an oil lease. At the turn of the 20th century, the federal government dissolved tribal land claims of the Indian Territory in favor the distribution of parcels to private owners. Robert Galbreath, a speculator and wildcatter, began prospecting in the area in 1901, and made an initial agreement that year with the recipient of one of these land allotments, Ida Glenn (she being a Creek native) and her husband, Robert, to drill for oil on their farmland. Due to federal regulations of the time, however, it would be years before such drilling commenced. Following the change of oil leasing regulations affecting Native American land allotments enacted due to Oklahoma's pending statehood, Galbreath and a partner, Frank Chesley, finally began drilling on the Ida E. Glenn Number One drill-site in the autumn of 1905. Roy Dodd and Shorty Miller made up the cable-tool drilling crew. Discovery After almost giving up and conceding the well to probably be a "dry hole", Galbreath noticed signs of gas flow in early November and continued drilling. Due to the depth they had drilled by mid-November, the success of the well was doubtful. After seeing signs of oil in the well debris, however, the pair were encouraged and, once more, continued on. On November 22, at 5 AM, with the well deep into the layer of Bartlesville (or "Glenn") sandstone of the Boggy Formation, the two struck oil at a depth of . The oil soon flowed over the top of the derrick, and the "gusher" marked the discovery of Oklahoma's first major oil field. Galbreath, Chesley, Charles Colcord, and John Mitchell then formed the Creek Oil Company, and Chesley soon leased an additional 600 acres. Galbreath went on to drill 69 successful wells, with only