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Post a picture of yourself at this McDonald's.
Glenpool, in the southwest portion of Tulsa County, is the home of what was
once known as the world's largest oil field. The Town of Glenpool existed for
many years as a boom town or tent city to support the oil field workers and was
not organized into a formal town until after statehood. Robert Galbreath had
come to the Creek Nation, Indian Territory in 1901 searching for oil. Local
histories tell that on July 3, 1901, Galbreath went to Creek Indian Ida E.
Glenn's farm (and allotment) where Roger Glenn, Ida's husband showed him a
heavily oil-stained limestone ledge. Galbreath took a hammer and broke off a
chunk. Inside he found a molecule of thick green oil. Glenn and Galbreath
immediately agreed informally that a test well would be sunk on the Glenn farm
as soon as federal restrictions regarding Indian lands relaxed to sign the
lease. Almost three years later, on April 22, 1905, the lease for 160 acres was
signed by Robert Glenn, Robert Galbreath and Frank Chesley. In October, drilling
on the test well began and on November 22, 1905, at a depth of 1,458 feet,
Galbreath and Chesley struck oil. "It was 5 o'clock, very clear and chilly,
and the Ida E. Glenn was in."'
(1) By
Thanksgiving, the Ida E. Glenn free flowed 85 barrels a day.
By 1906, the oil boom was serious. Galbreath drilled a second well within 300
feet of his first well and hit oil again. Men began chasing madly after leases
and paying exorbitant prices to drill wells. Galbreath struck again, bringing in
the Ida Glenn #3. The field was now roughly two miles long and derricks were
pumping night and day; only four wells were in and three of those were
Galbreath's.
The Town of Glenpool did not really exist yet. What did exist was a cluster
of 12 families in a settlement called Glenn. The towns of Keifer, Sapulpa,
Mounds and Tulsa were all feuding over who owned the field. In May, the
burgeoning field got its name: it became known as Glennpool, Glenn Pool or
GlennPool, taking its name from Ida E. Glenn, the Creek Indian woman upon whose
allotment Galbreath first struck oil.
In late 1906, both the Texas Oil Company and Gulf Oil Company announced plans
to bring eight inch pipelines to Glenn Pool to transport oil to their Texas
refineries. The field was really growing and had been recognized by The Oil
Investor's Journal as a major center for oil production. After one year, the
Glenn Pool had 127 wells that had been drilled; 107 struck oil, 12 found gas and
11 were dry. Besides the 107 producing wells, 24 other wells were drilling and
33 rigs were preparing to drill.
(2)
The Glenn Pool would have hundreds of different names that figured in its
development. Some unforgettable ones were: Galbreath and Company, Associated
Producer's Company, Creek Oil Company, W. H. Millkien, Bonacker, Quaker Oil
Company, Prairie Oil and Gas, Shawnee Oil Company, Litchfie1d, Sawyer and
Company, Laurel Oil Company, and Selby Oil Company.
(3)
The field was three miles wide and four miles long. It was producing 52,000
barrels a day, an average of 500 barrels per well. Robert Galbreath was now
referred to as the "Oil King of the Southwest" and was "rated the
richest man in Oklahoma." (4)
1907 was the Glenn Pool's best year. After that, it became increasingly under
the control of Gulf, Texaco and Prairie Oil and Gas. Robert Galbreath grew weary
of the congestion that the new pipelines did not resolve. He sold his holdings
to Edgar Crosbie for $500,000. Frank Chesley had sold out to Crosbie a few
months earlier for $200,000.
The Glenn Pool has been special to Tulsa since late 1905. More than
300,000,000 barrels have been taken from it in 75 years. When the Glenn Pool's
50th anniversary was celebrated in 1955, a member of the Tulsa Chamber of
Commerce said "Glenn Pool put Tulsa on the map.
(5)
The small settlement of Glenn grew with the oil field. By 1907, it had jumped
from 12 families to 3,000 people, but as yet had no official status. On October
4, 1907, R. J. and Pearl (Barber) Stewart deeded Pearl's Creek Indian allotment
to F. Markle and M. T. Self. They surveyed lots and platted 40 plus acres near
Highway 75 and 141st Street South on January 31, 1908, renaming their townsite
Glenpool. John Burt, Sr., from Oklahoma City, purchased most of the remaining
Barber-Stewart allotment and the majority of the lots from Markie and Self. Burt
sold half interest to Mr. Rumrill and together the two of them owned the
townsite company.
(6)
Early day pioneers can still remember when the south end of town was known as
Tent City or Rag City. This end of town had only board sidewalks and was the
home of many of the oil field workers. The northern end of town was referred to
as Brick Flats. In addition to row upon row of apartment houses, this end of
town housed the bank and the opera house. Early day businesses included Mid Self
Drug Store on the south side of Main Street, Naifeh's Grocery Store, the Post
Office near the railroad track, Burns Tank Farm, the Midland Valley Railroad
Depot, Fred Markie's Store and Jim Wilmont's Rooming House.
Glenpool had the richest school district in the new state. In 1907, Robert
Galbreath offered $1,000 for the construction of a building to be used for
school and church purposes. A two room frame school house was erected in 1908
with the money.
(7)
At this time, there were 205 children of school age in the school district.
"For each child, there was an oil well and a 55,000 barrel tank of the
illuminating fluid". (8)
The total cost of the school plant after several additions was $200,000. In
1952, this school burned. The existing school was rebuilt on the same site
almost immediately afterward.