Oklahoma's FIRST strategic oil find - Edmond, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 41.092 W 097° 30.434
14S E 635077 N 3950023
The West Edmond Field lived out many superlatives at a time when the country really needed it.
Waymark Code: WMKYHT
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/15/2014
Views: 6
The West Edmond Field refers to an area of 37,000 acres located in central Oklahoma, west of the town of Edmond. It was 1943. The country was in the middle of World War II and the need for domestic oil supplies was imperative. "Wild Catter" oilman, Assaph "Ace" Gutowsky teamed up with Farmer, J.M. Young and his skeptical "Doodlebug" succeeded in finding one of the largest oil production fields in the country.
A bronze sculpture has been placed in Mitch Park telling this amazing story of how oil was discovered, when desperately needed, and how it brought jobs to the returning WWII veterans, and put Oklahoma on the map as a world oil producer. The story of this amazing venture is documented on a marker on the back side of this sculpture (see photos in Gallery). A map in the Gallery also shows the location of this field (shown in gray on right side)
The West Edmond Field can lay title to several Superlatives:
* MOST important oil discovery of the 1940's (Okla. Historic Society)
* Oklahoma's FIRST major strategic find (On-site historic marker)
* The GREATEST concentration of rotary drilling rigs in the world (Time Magazine)
* "Oklahoma Oil Field LARGEST in state" - Montreal Gazette 12/10/1945
The field eventually produced a total of 117,000,000 barrels of oil.
Type of documentation of superlative status: Historic Records
Location of coordinates: Mitch Park - Edmond, OK
Web Site: [Web Link]
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