Oklahoma City Discovery Well - Oklahoma City, OK - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

When settlement opened in the Oklahoma Territory, eastern U.S. oil men moved in hoping to discover oil riches in the new Territory. But it wasn't until 3:00 PM on December 4, 1928, at the site of the Indian Territory Illuminating Oil (ITIO) and Foster Petroleum Co. No. 1 drilling operation, that a low rumble began, and within minutes, oil was gushing from the ground, blowing the wellhead equipment from the hole, high into the air. It was estimated to come in at over 5,000 barrels of oil per day, from the Arbuckle Limestone formation, and before that zone was depleted, the well produced 1,002,747 barrels. It later produced gas from the Layton Sand, and later was used as a gas storage well.

Cities Service Oil Company plugged the well in 1971 and deeded the site over to the Oklahoma Historical Society. The casing was left in the hole with the wellhead fittings. The area was fenced, and the four concrete piers which once supported the rig were still in place. A plaque was set designating the well as the Oklahoma City No. 1. Cities Services also presented the Society with the drilling logs, a map of the tract, and the daily drilling reports. This well opened the Oklahoma City Field, which eventually covered 16,000 acres, with 1658 wells, 1545 of them producing. Oil was produced from a total of eight zones at 18 different depths, from 3100 to 6700 feet. The landscape of the Oklahoma City area was totaly changed, and drilling rigs rose from the ground everywhere. It is said there were places where you could step from the floor of one drilling rig to another. (A granite marker for the Oklahoma City Field stands at the south entrance to the capitol and was placed in 1968).

Today, the fence surrounding the site has been removed, and the wellsite lies behind a residence off S. E. 57th Street, west of Bryant Avenue. The four concrete piers which once held the rig guard the original wellhead hardware which sits over the plugged well. A granite plaque reads:

OKLAHOMA CITY No. 1
On December 4, 1928, the Okla
homa City No. 1 blew in open
ing Oklahoma's most produc
tive oil and as field, sixth
largest in the nation.

Drilled by the Indian Terri
tory Illuminating Oil Com
pany a subsidiary of Cities
Service Oil Company, and the
Foster Patroleum Company,
the well was deeded to the
State of Oklahoma as a hist-
oric site after producing
over a million barrels of oil

Oklahoma Historic Society
1980

Street address: S.E. 5th Street Oklahoma City, OK US County / Borough / Parish: Oklahoma County Year listed: 1977 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction Current function: Recreation and Culture Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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