East Texas Oil Museum
East Texas oilmen take lunch on the Big Inch pipeline
Drilling in the oilfields of East Texas
Kilgore’s boomtown period circa 1935
Wildcat oil driller Columbus (Dad) Joiner hit a gusher near here in 1930, discovering what at the time was the world’s largest known oil field. A decade later, the oil field helped win World War II. Two record-breaking pipelines called the Big Inch and the Little Big Inch were built from East Texas to the East Coast, transporting 350 million barrels of oil that helped fuel the war in Europe. The East Texas Oil Museum recounts that historic effort.
East Texas Oil Museum
- Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday, 2 - 5 p.m (extended summer hours)
- Admission: None
- 1100 Broadway Blvd., Kilgore, TX
- 903-983-8295
- Visit Website
