Petroleum Park
The East Texas Weekend Preview — East Texas is home to many monumental events in the history of the state’s petroleum development.
From the very first producing well in 1866, near present day Nacogdoches, to the major oil boom thanks to the Daisy Bradford No. 3 in 1930, the region is filled with countless stories of how the industry took shape.
Along this fascinating timeline, there was a moment where occasional gushers turned into full-fledged commercial operations.
This massive turning point occurred in 1894 as a Corsicana crew was drilling for water and discovered a huge, rich pocket of black gold.
Soon after, the entire area was filled with towering derricks, eventually leading to the first oil refinery west of the Mississippi River.
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Today, you can visit the community park that highlights this spectacular finding, known as Petroleum Park!
Tour this half-acre and discover all sorts of equipment that was used on many of the rigging areas. One super fascinating piece is the Magnolia Cannon. This artillery weapon was used to destroy tanks of oil in the case that it would be struck by lightning! All in efforts to prevent terrifying fires, which were, are, devesting problems for oil fields.
They even have a 1923 wooden jail cell that was used to house unruly folks on a nearby drilling site in Powell, TX.
Discover all sorts of rich history at this free-to-visit education space.
Petroleum Park can be found at: 418 S 12th St, Corsicana, TX 75110
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