Museum celebrates 123rd anniversary of Spindletop oil boom
Big Thicket Outlaws re-enactors pose for a picture during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Brian Quijada.
Visitors traveled back in time to 1901, Jan. 13, as the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum celebrated the 123rd anniversary of the Lucas Gusher, which sparked the oil boom. The event included music, food trucks, reenactors and more.
On Jan. 10, 1901, the Lucas Gusher became the biggest oil strike in history when it poured out oil for nine days, launching the petroleum age and making Beaumont an oil boomtown.
The museum honored its history by showing what life was like in the early 1900s for the workers, the deal makers, and people who lived in the area.
Lamar University President Jaime Taylor was in attendance and said he liked what he saw.
“(It’s a) very exciting environment right now,” Taylor said.
Boomtown reenactors shoot at each other as part of a reenactment during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Carlos Viloria.
The anniversary event was filled with entertainment for all ages, including food trucks, a DJ, and the Big Thicket Outlaws, who reenacted Western-inspired scenes, including an old-fashioned gunfight.
The saloon hosted the Andre Harness Quartet. Blacksmiths worked their craft in the Southern Carriage Works building, and the museum’s other historic buildings hosted various activities.
Beaumonter Chris Montes said it was nice to see the museum come alive.
“It's really cool,” he said. “It's nice to see the new spark that the museum has taken and drawn more people. “I think the adults have a lot of history to appreciate, but the reenactments give the kids something else to look forward to as well.”
A Big Thicket Outlaws re-enactor shoots his revolver as part of a reenactment during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Brian Quijada.
Patrick Anderson, who played the mayor during the reenactment, said he feels the event made people aware of how Beaumont started.
“It was with that one oil well — that changed everything for the whole world, much less in Southeast Texas,” Anderson said. “We bring people back here to remember our heritage and why we’re here, and just to bring people back to that moment when something so amazing happened.”
With 123 years under their belt, the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum is still moving forward and finding new and better ways to bring more people to the facility.
For more information, visit lamar.edu/spindletop-gladys-city/ or on Instagram at boomtownmuseum.
The Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown faculty and staff pose for a picture during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Carlos Viloria.
President Taylor and Director of Boomtown Jeanna Summy pose for a picture during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Carlos Viloria.
A Boomtown reenactor looks at a sheet of paper as part of a reenactment during the 123rd Spindletop Anniversary at the Spindletop Gladys-City Boomtown Museum, Jan. 13. UP photo by Carlos Viloria.