America’s Greatest Oil Disaster Became Tourist Gold
The Carrizo Plain National Monument holds the site of America’s strangest oil disaster celebration. In 1910, grocer Julius Fried picked a drilling spot based on red grass, but went broke before striking oil.
Union Oil took over and assigned “Dry Hole” Charlie Woods to finish the job.
On March 15, pressurized crude exploded 200 feet skyward, creating a gusher that flowed uncontrolled for 544 days.
Instead of mourning the 9 million barrel spill, Americans celebrated it as proof of California’s oil wealth. Tourist trains ran daily to the site, with visitors proudly taking home oil-stained clothes as souvenirs.
California Historical Landmark No. 485 now marks where this bizarre spectacle unfolded.
A Grocer’s Hunch Led to America’s Biggest Oil Spill
Julius Fried spotted red grass clumps in California’s Midway-Sunset oil field and got a crazy idea. The local grocer thought this strange plant growth meant oil lurked below.
He convinced three friends to start Lakeview Oil Company, and they began drilling on New Year’s Day 1909. Their rookie crew dug down 1,655 feet but found nothing but dust, gas, and bills.
Money ran out quick. Locals said Fried got his red grass tip from an old-timer who said these plants grew where oil bubbled up.
“Dry Hole Charlie” Got Stuck with a Loser Well
Union Oil bought the broke Lakeview Oil Company in early 1910. They mainly wanted the storage tank spot, not the seemingly worthless well.
The company gave W. L. “Dry Hole Charlie” Woods the job of finishing it. Charlie got his nickname from many failed wells, though he knew his stuff.
Bosses told him to work on it only when he had nothing better to do. By March, they reached 2,225 feet with tools constantly getting stuck.
The Earth Roared Before Unleashing a Monster
Charlie and his crew tried to free stuck tools on March 15, 1910, when something odd happened. The bailer came up dripping with oil.
Then came rumbling from deep below. Seconds later, oil shot 200 feet upward, blasting the crown block off the 76-foot wooden derrick.
Men ran for their lives as a 20-foot-wide column of oil and sand wrecked everything around it. The flow hit 125,000 barrels daily.
The wooden derrick fell as crude spread across the land.
Oil Rivers Flowed Across the California Valley
Workers called the main oil stream the “Trout Stream” as it flowed through ditches away from the well. Instead of slowing, the gusher grew stronger each day, pumping a steady 90,000 barrels.
A huge hole formed around the wellhead, swallowing the engine house under mounds of sand. The oil spread across the valley floor, making actual rivers and lakes of crude oil.
The landscape changed into something strange as black crude covered everything.
Workers Built Pipelines in Record Time
Union Oil crews put in a four-inch pipeline to eight storage tanks 2.5 miles away in just four hours.
They added an eight-inch line to move oil from tanks to Port Avila on the California coast. Even with this quick work, the storage tanks filled too fast.
The company built 20 large open-air pits to hold the extra crude. Hundreds of men worked around the clock building sandbag dams and walls.
The oil kept flowing with no signs of stopping.
Tourists Paid to Get Covered in Oil
Special trains ran daily bringing folks from across Southern California to see the show. People cheered the gusher as proof of California’s wealth rather than worrying about damage to nature.
On windy days, oil mist covered train riders who couldn’t see through their oily windows. Visitors often left covered in oil and kept their stained clothes as souvenirs.
The gusher made front-page news nationwide. Some reports claimed you could see the oil column from Bakersfield, 35 miles away.
A House-Sized Box Couldn’t Stop the Flow
Workers built a massive wooden box from 14×14-inch timbers as big as a small house in April 1910. They moved this huge structure over the wellhead using heavy cables, hoping to control the flow.
The oil kept spurting out at 48,000 barrels daily despite this wooden container. The underground pressure eventually blew the timber box to pieces.
The hole kept growing as the gusher formed a 30-foot-high central cone of sand around itself.
Men Built a Giant Oil Lake on Purpose
The company started building a huge circular bank 100 feet across using countless sandbags. Six hundred men worked to build dirt walls up to 75 feet high in nearby gullies.
This man-made lake could hold 16 million barrels of oil around the wellhead. Workers paddled boats across the oil lake to reach the wellhead for repairs.
The walls measured 150 feet wide at the narrow end and 250 feet wide at the other end of the gully.
The Gusher Finally Calmed Down After Seven Months
By October 1910, the 20-foot-high sandbag wall created an oil pool deep enough to cut pressure. The towering gusher changed from a massive column to a gurgling spout.
The oil lake reached depths of 30 meters in spots, big enough for workers to float across on rafts. Though contained, oil kept flowing into the massive man-made reservoir.
Workers stayed on constant fire watch as oil spray carried on the wind up to 10 miles away.
A Nearby Well Fire Kept Everyone on Edge
A well called “Tightwad Hill” blew out and caught fire while Lakeview was still flowing. The flames burned so bright that tourists could view the Lakeview Gusher at night.
Everyone feared the fire might spread to the main gusher, causing a catastrophe. Neighboring landowners filed lawsuits over oil damage to their properties.
Workers faced dangerous conditions daily, covered head to foot in sticky crude oil. The combination of fire risk and the never-ending flow kept tension high throughout the area.
The Monster Well Sealed Itself After 18 Months
Underground pressure finally dropped below a critical point on September 10, 1911. The wellhead collapsed and sealed itself shut after 544 days of non-stop flow.
The well died as suddenly as it was born, ending the 18-month spectacle that had drawn thousands of visitors. The final tally reached 9.4 million barrels of oil, with less than half recovered for refining.
The site later became California Historical Landmark No. 485, marking America’s largest accidental oil spill.
What started with a grocer’s hunch about red grass ended as a bizarre chapter in American oil history.
Visiting Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
You can explore the Lakeview Gusher site at Carrizo Plain National Monument for free at 17495 Soda Lake Road in Santa Margarita. The Goodwin Education Center runs December through May, 9 AM to 4 PM Thursday-Sunday.
Find the historical marker via Petroleum Club Road, 1.5 miles north of Maricopa on Highway 33.
Bring your own fuel, food, and water since none are available. You’ll need a high clearance vehicle for the unpaved Soda Lake Road.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
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