RANGER TIMES (Dedication)
RANGER TIMES (Denney Article)
RANGER TIMES (Hall of Fame)
RANGER TIMES (Christmas Parade)
The Ranger Historical Preservation Society honored Gordon several weeks ago by naming him to the first-ever Ranger Hall of Fame. At the same time the society dedicated a turn-of-the-century-style oil derrick on the farm where the crude oil was first discovered.
"Who knows where this town would be had it not been for the perseverance of W. K. Gordon." said Jeane B Pruett, president and founder of the town's preservation group.
"He drilled for oil when everyone else said there was none."
The society erected the 64-foot-high wooden rig after an 8 year effort to preserve the historic spot that never was supposed to yield oil. The commemorative nonworking well stands a few feet shorter that the original one on 1 1/2 acres donated by a local attorney. Vintage drilling equipment donated by an area oil company sits nearby.
Community members purchased engraved bricks that eventually will pave a walkway to the derrick, purported to be the start of the boom that provided fuel for America's war effort.
The group also has plans for a diorama and a small theater where local drama students can re-enact the events surrounding the oil discovery.
Jeane Pruett's a Portsmouth, Va., native who stumbled upon the town's rich history while researching her husband's Ranger ancestry. She and her husband moved back to his birthplace in 1981 to retire.
"This place is so full of history," she said "Its so important to preserve this area. Here is something that helped win World War I."
In attendance at the dedication ceremony was W. K. Gordon's daughter-in-law, Melissa Gordon, who accepted the honor for the Gordon family. Her husband W. K. Gordon Jr. 68, was unable to attend due to poor health. The couple live in Thurber, a former coal-mining town that the Older Gordon helped build.
"Its amazing." Melissa Gordon said in a recent phone interview. It all started in Spotsylvania County."
W. K. Gordon spent his formative years on a 200-acre farm off Spotsylvania County's Leavells Road. The area now is known as Loriella Park. He attended Fredricksburg schools, but learned geology and engineering from his uncle William F. Gordon, who was then considered one of Virginia's foremost engineers.
The younger Gordon started his career building railroads through-out Virginia and the Carolinas. He traveled to Texas to survey a proposed railroad. He ended up quitting the railroad job, though, to take over as mining engineer for the Texas and Pacific Coal Co.
Officers and employees there respected Gordon both as a man and geologist. He rose quickly to vice president and general manager. People who knew him described Gordon as a persistent, hardworking man who never much enjoyed clubs or hobbies. He loved nature and possessed such an innate knowledge of land formations that he could tell within a few feet the exact depth coal would be found.
After he took over, coal production in Thurber rose from 50 tons to 3,000 tons a day. It was that same insight that convinced Gordon that oil and gas lay hidden beneath the rich west Texas soil. He was not deterred by trained geologists who disputed his belief.
The Texas Area was in the middle of the worst drought in 50 years, and Ranger was teetering on economic calamity. Begging Gordon to follow his instincts, area businessmen, ranchers and farmers leased him thousands of acres on which to drill. Gordon began drilling
The first well spewed gas, but soon was shut down because no market for the petroleum existed at the time. Gordon moved on to an area known as the McCleskey farm, but after three months, no oil had been found. Some of the country's best geologists examined the well and informed the New York office of Texas and Pacific Coal Co. that Gordon's efforts were futile. There was no sign of oil, they said, and if any was discovered, there wouldn't be enough to fool with.
Stop drilling, company officials told Gordon. Still he persisted.
William K. Gordon Jr. was eight years old at the time. On Oct. 17, 1917, he and his father were out in another part of the county checking out mining fields. When they returned to Ranger, a note had been left for Gordon: "The CcCleskey well has blown in."
Frank Champion, the driller, told a Texas news reporter about the day's events. "We were just wildcatting'," he said. "The well came in Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. I started out of the hole, and before I got the clamps broken, the well was flowing. We dug pits until we could get tanks and pipelines and locating racks built to accommodate the heavy flow."
Champion walked the mile into Ranger to phone the company about the find. Champion admitted he had been skeptical about finding oil until that day. At the sight of his oil-spattered clothes, farmers and ranchers besieged him with questions. To all Champion replied:
"The McCleskey is a well."
It took nearly four weeks for workers to get the well under control. The McCleskey well brought in about 1,600 barrels a day until it was plugged three years later. Dozens of derricks sprang up on farmland through the area. The town of 750 people quickly swelled to 30,000, and prosperity reigned for a number of years.
The Ranger oil discovery also furnished much-needed fuel for battle. The United States and its allies faced the threat of an oil shortage after Russia withdrew from the war. The Ranger discovery made international headlines, prompting the British prime minister, Earl Curzon, to declare that the Allies' cause had been "floated to victory on a wave of oil."
A Texas newspaper reporter described the oil find as the "world's" biggest boom...The wildest, roaringest boom of all-Ranger!"
He continued, "Truly California in 1849, the Klondike, Butte, Spindle top--none of the riches whether produced by gold, silver, copper or petroleum, equaled Ranger."
Gordon's influence still is felt not only in West Texas, but also in the place of his birth. Children kick soccer balls and pick up rocks along nature trails on the 200 acres where W. K. Gordon was born.
Gordon's son donated the land off Leavells Road in northeastern Spotsylvania in 1980 as a means of preserving its natural woodlands that his father enjoyed. The younger Gordon named the park Loriella--from a combination of family names--but paid tribute to his parents by having a wooden plaque placed at the parks entrance. The inscription reads "The William Knox Gordon and Fay Kearby Gordon Conservation and Recreational Park."
Little has changed since W. K. Gordon lived there. All but 50 acres remain in their natural state. A mile-long nature trail winds to a pond in the back of the property. The park also has a swimming pool, dressing room and tennis courts.
The old farmhouse, where the elder Gordon grew up, has been transformed into offices for the parks and recreation department. The family recently approved plans for an office addition at the farmhouse to be built in the spring. A special room will display Gordon family keepsakes, including a scrapbook with pictures and newspaper articles that describe W. K. Gordon's role in the Ranger oil boom.
The Gordon's returned to Fredericksburg area last summer to visit the park and to attend a family reunion at Kenmore. W. K. Gordon's great-grandfather, Samuel Gordon, lived at Kenmore during the Civil War and gave the historic Fredericksburg mansion its name.
Around here, people talk about the mansion's more famous resident, George Washington's sister, Betty Washington Lewis.
Spotsylvania County Parks and Recreation Department director Ernie Pennington said Loriella Park remains a tribute to the Gordon family's love of nature and conservation. In fact, surveying the park that serves as a legacy, Pennington said of the persistent pioneer and Texas hero, "I think (W. K. Gordon) would have been pleased."
FLOAT- 1st place: Ranger Chamber of Commerce; 2nd place 3-way tie: Symphony Home Care Service, Eastern Star, Ranger 4H.
QUEENS AND SWEETHEARTS- 1st place, 2-way tie: Amanda Wheat, Roaring Ranger Rodeo Queen; Ashley Nicole Hall, Miss Breckenridge.
ANTIQUE CARS- 1st place: Floyd Caraway, 1936 Ford Pickup.
CLASSIC CARS- 1st place: Jerry and Phyllis Johnston, 1995 Ford Crown Victoria. 2nd place: Jack and Linda Jenkins 1955 Chevrolet.
WALKING GROUPS- 1st place: Daisy Brownies/Girl Scouts Troop #345, 2nd place, 2-way tie: Ranger Cub Scout Pack 10, Ranger College Cheerleaders.
RIDING- 1st place: Dale Bradshaw
MOST UNUSUAL- Eastland County Crime Stoppers, 2nd place: McMurray University Calliope.
(Also not competing was the float entered by Lifeline Home Health Services whose employees assisted with the parade.)
The Ranger Historical Preservation Society wishes to say a personal thank you to all its members for their work and participation. A very special thank to Bill and Lillie Kimbrough for furnishing a place for the Society to work on their float; to Hal and Mary Walton of Cross Road Tree Farm for their donation of the Christmas tree and also to Reflections Beauty Salon for furnishing the electricity at the review stand.
Most of all we appreciate the citizens of all ages who came to see the parade because YOU are what makes it all worthwhile!
Ranger Hall of Fame: The Ranger Hall of Fame was established in October 1994 as the result of a recommendation of the Ranger Exes Association to the Ranger Historical Preservation Society. For some years the Exes Association has supported a Ranger Football Hall of Fame which was established to recognize those varsity football players of the Ranger High School who had excelled in the sport and thereby brought accolades to the school. In recommending to the Historical Society the establishment of the Ranger Hall of Fame, the Exes Association sought to widen the population from which nominees could be drawn, as well as widen the scope of the effort. Accepting this recommendation, the Ranger Hall of Fame is now a permanent function of Ranger Historical Preservation Society.
The Ranger Hall of Fame will include those who have made significant contributions, in one form or another, to the development of the City of Ranger, Texas over its history. A significant contribution may be defined as any action or sustained series of actions beyond the realm of normal performance which has substantially enhanced the name and/or growth of Ranger.
In addition to other news media the Ranger Exes Association will aid the Historical Preservation Society through announcements pertaining to the Hall of Fame in its periodic newsletters, i.e. solicitation of nominees, deadlines, etc. Selections for induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame will be made annually by the Society's Selection Committee in time to be announced at a special event of the Ranger Historical Preservation Society.
NOMINATIONS TO THE RANGER HALL OF FAME:
Anyone may submit a nomination. The person making the nomination should be familiar with the nominee's history/biography. The nomination must include as a minimum: (a) Name , address and telephone number of nominator; (b) Biographical sketch of the nominee; (c) Detailed and documented narrative description of the nominee's significant contributions to Ranger, Texas; (d) An 8 x 10 photograph (if available) which will be displayed permanently in the Ruth Terry Denney Library Building.
If you would like to make a nomination please send a request for the necessary Format and Procedures to:
ATTENTION:
Ranger Hall of Fame
Ranger Historical Preservation Society
P.O. Box 320
Ranger, Texas 76470-0320
Mr. Ruth Terry Denney, beloved Ranger native, who taught in the Ranger Independent School for 21 years, moved with her husband, the late O. B. Denney, to Eldorado, Arkansas in 1943, retiring from teaching in Eldorado in 1967, but has returned home to Ranger frequently, and with each visit Ranger has benefited in so many ways.
Mrs. Denney, retired educator, artist, musician, has so generously given through the O. B. Denney Estate, money to refurbish the Auditorium in the Ranger Recreation Building, corner of Marston and Pine Street, as well as funds to refurbish the Ranger Community Clubhouse-Library, 720 Pine Street, the Ranger Museum located in the old Depot Building, and to the First Baptist Church, The First United Methodist Church, the Ranger College, and to the Pioneer Cemetery.
Mrs. Denney's latest contribution has been to the Ranger Historical Preservation Society, to further the Society's efforts toward ultimately reaching their goals, continuing her support in so many ways. Mrs. Denney's greatest desire is for the residents of her native home-town of Ranger, Texas to work together, one and all for a better Ranger.
IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT A FEW RANGER, TEXAS CITIZENS MET WITH MR. W. K. GORDON OF THE TEXAS AND PACIFIC COAL COMPANY AND AN AGREEMENT WAS MADE FOR THE COMPANY TO DRILL FOR OIL IN AND AROUND RANGER.
ON OCTOBER 17, 1917 THE WELL SPUDDED IN ON ON JOHN H. McCLESKEY FARM CAME IN A GUSHER, CREATING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOMS OF ALL TIMES. THE DISCOVERY WELL, J. H. McCLESKEY NO. 1 WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM THAT WAS TO SUPPLY THE MUCH NEEDED FUEL FOR THE ALLIES AND BECOME A MAJOR PART OF WINNING WWI.
IN 1995 THE RANGER HISTORICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY DEDICATED THE SITE AND TWO HISTORICAL MARKERS. THE SOCIETY HAS NOW CONSTRUCTED A REPLICA WOODEN DERRICK OVER THE WELL, AND DONATED VINTAGE EQUIPMENT ADDED TO REPRESENT THE DISCOVERY RIG.
ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1996 AT 4:00 PM THE DERRICK AND RIG WILL BE DEDICATED. SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER WILL BE RUBEN MORELAND-OCHOA OF THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION AT AUSTIN. HE IS COORDINATOR OF THE HISTORICAL MARKER 2000 PROJECT. JUDGE SCOTT BAILEY, HISTORICAL COMMISSION CHAIRMAN FOR EASTLAND COUNTY AND SOCIETY MEMBERS WILL EMCEE THE PROGRAM. JIM FARRAR, JIM BILHARTZ AND SAUL PULLMAN WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
BUS TRANSPORTATION TO THE SITE WILL BE PROVIDED BEGINNING AT 2:30 P.M. FROM THE SOCIETY'S HERITAGE CENTER ON LOOP 254 (OLD HWY 80) JUST NORTH OF I-H 20 EXIT 349. LAST BUS WILL LEAVE AT 3:35 P.M.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE SOCIETY AT (817) 647-5353
Members of the Ranger Historical Preservation Society expressed their sincere appreciation to everyone who participated whether before or during the event to make it a success.
RANGER-- At the end of Eastland County Road 459, where the pavement fades to gravel and then dirt, sits a construction site that is nearly a century behind its time....
The 1 1/2 acre site, ringed with a new chain link fence and gates, belongs to the Ranger Historical Preservation Society....
The project is the passion of society president Jeane Pruett....
Tall and lanky, with a face etched by the oilfield sun, Shivers oversees the new McCleskey rig....
The 64-foot wooden derrick is nearly completed, and a few pieces of vintage, rusted equipment sits nearby. They were donated by the North Ridge Corp...Pruett hopes....
RANGER--History is about to repeat itself in Ranger with the construction of a replica of the McCleskey oil derrick.
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