The first business
located in this building is the Beaumont Oil Exchange and Board of Trade,
which was a stock exchange established in Beaumont on April 18, 1901.
The Lucas Gusher came in on January 10, and it was just four months later
that a stock exchange was necessary to deal expressly in oil stocks. This
was important in order to protect investors from crooked operators.
In spite of the exchange, this area was often referred to as "Swindletop."
Confidence men printed stock certificates and marketed them wherever and
whenever possible. The oil fever in Beaumont encouraged people to buy
into the most spurious investment with the dream of making millions out
of a few dollars. At this time, there were no state laws against dealing
in oil leases without appropriate surveys, and there were no laws controlling
where and when stocks would be sold or requiring documentation insuring
their validity.
Over 600 companies were established specifically because of the Spindletop
oil fields, and most eventually failed or were disbanded. Some went on
to become industry giants or were absorbed into later businesses. Among
those very well known were the Guffey Petroleum Company (later Gulf Oil
and later still Chevron) and Sunoco (Sun Oil Company) which had already
been established in Ohio. J. Edgar Pew came to Beaumont specifically because
of the Spindletop oil field, and Sun Oil went on to become one of the
majors. The Texas Company (Texaco) had its roots here, and the men and
companies that eventually became the Humble Oil and Refining company and
Mobil Oil also had roots in Spindletop.
Many of the roustabouts and roughnecks that came out of Spindletop went
on to become important independent oil men and industry managers in later
years, including such men as Glenn McCarthy and Michel Halbouty. These
men had their first exposure to the oil industry during the 1926 boom
with the Yount-Lee Oil Company.
The 1901 boom lasted only for about five years. Production fell off considerably
after 1903, when it reached its peak at something over 17 million barrels
per year. By 1905 field pressure had been exhausted much too quickly,
and production was falling off rapidly. Although the field continued to
produce, it was at a much lower rate than had occurred previously. It
is still producing today, but it is classified as a stripper operation
by the Texas Railroad Commission.
The two offices in the back of the Board of Trade building are set up
as a law office and a print shop. The oil industry was a new source of
income for lawyers as the early tangle over leases and clear land titles
proved. The office includes several interesting pieces of equipment and
furniture. The back office has been arranged as a print shop. That also
would have been a vital commodity for men in promotion and speculation.
The equipment in the office is from the period of the second boom of the
1920s. It belonged to Oscar Beamon who was a printer for the Beaumont
Enterprise and Journal and for Becker Printing Company before
setting up a shop of his own.