Glenpool History
Making Tulsa Famous
Glenpool has been known as “The Town that made Tulsa Famous” because of the 1905 discovery of oil on the land of Ida E. Glenn. The resulting oil boom at the Glenn Pool made Tulsa the “Oil Capital of the World.”
A Timeline of Discovery & Opportunity
Robert Galbreath comes to the Creek Nation, Indian Territory, searching for oil. Local histories name July 3, 1901, as the date he visited Creek Indian Ida E Glenn's farm and allotment. There, her husband Roger showed Galbreath some oil-stained limestone. A bit of investigation showed the promise of oil and an informal pact was born to drill a test well when federal restrictions permitted it.
Galbreath, Glenn and Frank Chesley signed a 160-acre lease on April 22, 1905 and drilling began. On November 22 at a depth of 1,458, they struck oil. Soon, the well free-flowed 85 barrels a day.
Interest and drilling intensify. Oil dreams set men to paying high prices to drill and secure leases. The Texas Oil Company and Gulf Oil Company decide to bring eight-inch pipelines to the field too transport oil to their Texas refineries. By late 1906, one year after the first test well hit, the Glenn Pool boasted 127 drilled wells; 107 struck oil, 12 found gas and 11 turned up dry. An additional 24 wells were drilling but not yet producing and 33 rigs were preparing to drill... making the total rig count 184. The field was three miles wide, four miles long, and produced an average of 52,000 barrels a day of oil.
Galbreath and Chesley sold their interests to Edgar Crosbie as the field came increasingly under the control of large oil companies. 1907 was the field's best year. The settlement of Glenn had grown from 12 families in 1901 to more than 3,000 people by the end of 1907, many still living in tents or other temporary shelters.
The townsite of Glenpool is surveyed and platted. John Burt, Sr., and Mr. Rumrill together owned the townsite company.
More Information
View more information on Glenpool's early days.
Spirit
The same entrepreneurial spirit that drove the early growth of the Glenn Pool and later Glenpool communities still thrives in Glenpool today. The town welcomes new businesses and residents and strives to provide an excellent quality-of-life to its citizens. More information on moving to Glenpool is available on this site as well as information for those interested in locating a business in Glenpool.