Indications of oil on John Gaillard’s farm had been evident for years but, after the Spindletop discovery in 1901, Gulf Coast oil exploration increased dramatically. Drilling at Goose Creek began in 1904, and for four years, only traces were found. In June 1908, a well on Minnie Gaillard’s property came in at 1,000 barrels per day, and within days, most of the land nearby was leased for drilling. In 1908, driller Howard Hughes, Sr. developed the two-cone drill bit on his lease in the area. From the beginning, Goose Creek oil was shipped by barge and, in 1912, a pipeline was laid to a dock built on Hog Island. A town that sprang up among the derricks was named Goose Creek when the post office opened in 1913. Offshore drilling in Texas began here later that same year. After a gusher in August 1916, hundreds of oil field workers descended on the town where most lived in tents and shacks among the derricks. The influx of so many people in a short time caused general lawlessness and sanitation issues for a few months. A well blowout in December 1916 forced people to evacuate the old town, moving north to what became known as New Town and Middle Town. More gushers in 1917 and 1918 cemented Goose Creek’s reputation as the top oil producing field in the Gulf Coast district. Gulf Production Company and Humble Oil & Refining Company began providing company housing in 1917. Due to poor roads, Ross Sterling built his Dayton-Goose Creek Railroad to ship drilling machinery and pipe, opening in 1918. Annual production reached a high of 10 million barrels in 1918 when a thousand people worked in the field. However, when output began to decline, oil workers migrated to new fields. In another oil boom from 1948 into the 1960s, about 150 wells were drilled in neighborhood back yards. Since 1904, more than 1,500 wells have been drilled at Goose Creek, and total production exceeds 160 million barrels. (2022)