After the modern petroleum industry was born at Spindletop in Beaumont in January 1901, serious exploration along the Gulf Coast intensified. Just a few years later, wells were being drilled at White Point Peninsula in San Patricio County.
It was changes observed on the surface of the land—not the high-tech geological tools of today—that led prospectors to White Point. Locals noticed grains of sulfur in the sand and hydrogen sulfide gas seeping from a water hole, signs that suggested a salt dome or other subsurface structure might lie below. Wildcatters rejoiced even at gas-well blowouts, believing that where there was gas, there might also be oil. White Point was home to several dramatic blowouts in its prime, some igniting and burning so brightly that the glow was visible for miles.
These early wells were key to mapping geologic features that could be discovered only through coring and drilling. As those maps improved, so did the ability to locate additional oil and gas fields. The enormously productive Saxet Oil Field lies only about 4 miles from White Point Field, along the same regional geological trend.
Finds like these helped usher in a new era of development for the region. They were part of the economic momentum that led to Corpus Christi’s deep water port in 1926—a milestone that permanently reshaped the city’s growth and industry.
