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#CC-7 - Kansas Drilling Crew - ca. 1900-1915 - $15.00 - Kansas Drilling Crew - We purchased this photo at an estate sale in Pratt, Kansas, on a 1997 buying trip to that state. The photo itself measures 5” tall by 7” wide, and is mounted on a cabinet-type backing card that measures 6.5” x 8”. Kansas Oil History began in the 1860s with G.W. Brown’s drilling of the state’s first oil well near Paola. The oil strike at Neodesha in 1892 led to the construction of a refinery in the area by John Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. There was a decline in Kansas oil production between 1905-1910. Then a major strike in 1915 with the drilling of Stapleton #1, the discovery oil well for the El Dorado Field, would change Kansas history forever. This historic field, covering 34 square miles (22,320 acres). It became the largest producer among single fields in the United States. In one year alone (1918) the prolific El Dorado Field produced nearly 29 million barrels of oil. The condition is VeryGood, with a light crease across the UR corner, and a 1” horizontal pressure bend at teach side... about midway between the top and bottom of the photo. The entire photo has a sepia tone.