(2 mi. Northwest) Apparently the first use in Texas of natural gas for fuel occurred in 1879 near here. William Seidel, a farmer, grist mill and cotton gin owner, and merchant, trying to dig a water well, struck gas at approximate depth of 106 feet. The gas was piped to a farmhouse nearby. Production of gas and oil has spread to 210 Texas counties; 27 pipeline companies export gas. Annual rate of production is about 8 trillion cubic feet. Texas has 42.3 per cent of the proven gas reserves in America, and it has a 19,895-foot well, believed to be world's deepest. (1967)