W. K. Gordon, Sr. (1862-1949) was born in Loriella, Virginia and worked as a railroad surveyor, mine manager, civil and mining engineer, and an independent oil and gas producer. Gordon is perhaps best known as the man behind the discovery of oil in central Texas. The papers are comprised of correspondence, biographical data, memoirs, minutes, broadsides, company records and records of labor negotiations, newsletters, newspaper clippings, printed materials, a videotape, and photographs. A large portion of the papers consists of correspondence between E. L. Marston and W. K. Gordon, reports on coal and oil production and prospecting of the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company, oil field drilling logs, lease agreements, and maps. The photographs form the bulk of the collection and depict everyday life in boomtown Thurber, and Ranger, Texas, in the early 1900s. Other materials reflect the tenuous relationship between miners and operators in Thurber, 1903-1921. Materials collected by Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Gordon, Jr., include correspondence of the Thurber Historical Association, 1992-1995, that reflects the efforts of the association to chronicle and publicize Thurber’s history; information concerning the demise of the Thurber cemetery and restoration efforts; plans and details about the brick making process at the Thurber Brick Plant; biographical information on W. K. Gordon, Sr.; and memoirs and histories of early Thurber. The W. K. Gordon, Sr., Papers reveal the struggle encountered in the quest for oil in Texas and detail the financial sacrifices and rewards in its discovery.
Finding aids are available here: AR401 and AR421. Materials provided by Special Collections and Archives at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Finding aids are available here: AR401 and AR421. Materials provided by Special Collections and Archives at the University of Texas at Arlington.
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