7 things to know about the Conroe oilfield and its impact on the city

Conroe historian Gertie Spencer believes there was no event that shaped the city’s future more than the discovery of oil nearby in 1931. 

At the time, the rest of the country was in the grips of the Great Depression. The discovery of oil in the Conroe oilfield in December 1931 lifted the area out of economic turmoil, brought thousands to the city and created an industry that would flourish for several decades. 

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Here are some key things to know about the discovery of oil in Conroe:

Developer George Strake 

As early as 1919, The Courier newspaper reported the possibility of oil in the ground surrounding Conroe. Up until 1931 it had not been successfully located or extracted. 

It took a entrepreneur from St. Louis with a hunch to make it happen. George Strake Sr. was born Nov. 9, 1894 in St. Louis, the 10th child of 10 children. He lost his parents and his sisters raised him.

After college, he served in the United States Army Air Corps in World War I. Following his service, he moved to Tampico, Mexico and began working for Gulf Oil Co. He met and married his wife, Susan, there. 

His mother-in-law’s illness brought the couple to Houston where he began to explore the Conroe area for oil. 

A hunch based on the water 

At a lecture in Conroe in 2019, George Strake Jr., said his dad would talk to farmers in the area southeast of Conroe and they would tell him the cows wouldn’t drink the water in the creeks there because it was too brackish. He also noticed that the water ran in directions that were not natural for that area. 

Strake Jr. said a lot of people thought his dad was crazy for wanting to drill for oil. Still he bought 8,500 acres southeast of Conroe, creating Strake Oil Corp.

A rig was brought in from East Texas after a harrowing trip across a weight-limited bridge. 

A blessing while at mass 

Strake was attending mass at Conroe’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Dec. 13, 1931 when a roustabout delivered the good news. His son said his dad finished mass before going to inspect the situation. 

In June 1932, another of his wells struck oil. More oil fields opened in the area leading to even bigger strikes and companies such as Humble Oil and Refining Co. (now Exxon) and the Texas Co. (Texaco) came on board leading to further development of the fields. 

The Conroe oil field became the third largest in the country was a huge boost to Conroe and the surrounding area. 

The impact on Conroe 

In 2012, a Courier article quoted Whitson Etheridge — another historian of the city — as saying Conroe became a boomtown seemingly overnight. 

“Conroe changed from a sleepy little town to bustling boomtown,” said the lifelong resident in the 2012 article. “People came from around the state and across the country looking to make their fortune in Conroe. So many people were coming to Conroe there was no place for them. The hotels and rooming houses were filled to the brim.”

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The city received its first traffic light to control the congestion downtown. For the first time, the city streets were paved and improvements came to the schools and the government buildings. 

Oil camps developed 

As oil production continued, oil camps with family housing developed. One of the largest camps was the Humble Oil Camp. 

Whole families would live in little houses that were similar in design and provided by the company. The fathers worked for the oil company and the children would ride Sam Doyal’s “Little Lulu” bus into Conroe for school. 

Charles Tullos and the now late Fred Greer were children when their families lived in Humble Oil Camp. For them it was a playground amongst their friends. They had the run of the streets and the surrounding woods and a steady source of playmates among the other camp children. 

As production in the oil field dwindled, the camp homes were sold off and most of the families moved to town. The oil camp home of Strake superintendent Clyde Thomas “Dolly” Gray is now a part of the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County complex as the Strake-Gray House and there is a variety of oil field memorabilia in the exhibit rooms. 

Also check out the museum for a map of the Conroe oilfield. 

Strake’s philanthropy 

As a devout Catholic, many Catholic institutions benefiting from Strake’s wealth and Strake was well-known for his philanthropy. 

In recent yeas it has come to light just how much Strake helped change the history of the world as well. Best-selling author John O’Neill wrote the book “The Fisherman’s Tomb” which chronicled Strake’s involvement in the search for the remains of St. Peter in the Vatican.

On June 5, 1957, the citizens of Conroe honored Strake on the 25th anniversary of the discovery of oil in Montgomery County by dedicating a monument to him on the city hall lawn. The monument titled “Joe Roughneck” is now at the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County. 

Strake died of a heart attack on Aug. 6, 1969 while driving to San Antonio. 

Most recent years of the oil field 

In 2019, The Courier featured Patrick Houlihan as the third generation of the Houlihan family working in the Conroe oilfield.

His grandfather, Daniel M. Houlihan, came to Conroe with some of his friends to work in the oilfield during the oil boom of the early 1930s. His father, Daniel Kelly Houlihan, also worked in the Conroe oilfield. 

He said he operated wells that had not changed in 80s years. The Houlihans worked the Hooper Lease which continues to operate today. 

Now the area has a Hunstman Corporation plant and other industrial businesses. Soon drilling will take place again in the Conroe oilfield 92 years after Strake’s gusher in 1931.