Texas had this strange way of financing public education. They gave county school districts the mineral rights to public land in other parts of the state. So Denton had the mineral rights to land in Wichita and Archer Counties. They still do it to support the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems with the Permanent University Fund (PUF). It holds the mineral rights for thousands of acres in South and West Texas.
The comment from the newspaper referencing Denton County schools south of Wichita Falls ... I followed the link to the newspaper article and I have no idea what was intended but Denton County is nowhere south of Wichita County ... more like 150 miles just a smidgeon east-southeast. I'd guess they probably mean Archer County? Unless there was some specific property that was just named "Denton County" which, in Texas, wouldn't be all that out of the ordinary.
The growth was so rapid, it's hard to imagine all the rigs going up in three weeks. It must have been something to see. Lester died so young, what a tragedy for the family. Also, I had never heard of the Royal Order of Jesters, at least not pertaining to the U.S. Very interesting.
It’s a Masonic organization. He was very active in Masonry.
It was very tragic for the family. My grandmother dropped out of college to be home with her mother. My great grandmother never remarried. Sadly, my grandmother suffered a very similar tragedy when my grandfather was killed in an auto accident at 34. But that’s for another story.
Texas had this strange way of financing public education. They gave county school districts the mineral rights to public land in other parts of the state. So Denton had the mineral rights to land in Wichita and Archer Counties. They still do it to support the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems with the Permanent University Fund (PUF). It holds the mineral rights for thousands of acres in South and West Texas.
The comment from the newspaper referencing Denton County schools south of Wichita Falls ... I followed the link to the newspaper article and I have no idea what was intended but Denton County is nowhere south of Wichita County ... more like 150 miles just a smidgeon east-southeast. I'd guess they probably mean Archer County? Unless there was some specific property that was just named "Denton County" which, in Texas, wouldn't be all that out of the ordinary.
Loved the footnotes! Excellent work.
Thanks! That’s high praise coming from you.
The growth was so rapid, it's hard to imagine all the rigs going up in three weeks. It must have been something to see. Lester died so young, what a tragedy for the family. Also, I had never heard of the Royal Order of Jesters, at least not pertaining to the U.S. Very interesting.
It’s a Masonic organization. He was very active in Masonry.
It was very tragic for the family. My grandmother dropped out of college to be home with her mother. My great grandmother never remarried. Sadly, my grandmother suffered a very similar tragedy when my grandfather was killed in an auto accident at 34. But that’s for another story.
Bill, the East Texas oilfield and its history are near and dear to my heart, and the stories out of Burkburnett are always such fun to explore!
Thanks for sharing your family’s connection to this amazing period of history.