Texas Standard Oil Co.'s derricks. Click to view entire image.

Lone Star and Crescent Oil Co.'s storage tank

J.M. Guffey Petroleum Company's mammoth oil tanks

When the Spindletop area began to decline, wildcatters in 1903 headed to Sour Lake, Saratoga, and Batson in Hardin County. Since there were no jails in Batson, police chained suspects to trees. In 1904, the crews moved to Humble and then to Burkburnett in north Texas. But oil production in Southeast Texas remained the most important part of the economy.

Oil must be refined, and refineries soon opened nearby. Guffey Oil's refinery (now Chevron) began operation in Port Arthur in 1901, and within three years, Texaco opened its refinery, also at Port Arthur, and the George A. Burt Company operated one in south Beaumont along the Neches river. Burt later became the Magnolia Refinery and is now called Mobil. Soon others, and associated companies, followed in the local area and at Houston. The oil products most in demand were kerosene, naptha, and lubricants. In 1901, gasoline was not much desired and at one time was used as a quack remedy. Users could buy it at drugstores. The beginning of the automobile age came shortly, and gasoline became a major product.

One of the problems with oil booms is that they come to an end, and boom times in Southeast Texas were largely over by World War I. Nevertheless, the oil industry continued a steady growth. In 1906, Port Arthur became a port of entry for the Sabine District, and the ship channel reached Beaumont and Orange in 1908. The major cargo was oil and oil products. In 1911, the Beaumont harbor was enlarged, and in 1927, a turning basin dredged. The three ports together shipped huge amounts of tonnage in later years. Now imported crude oil comes through the ports to be refined at the various refineries on the intracoastal canal.