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Beaumont is Booming(Galveston Daily News, January 16, 1901) Beaumont, Texas, Jan. 15--Outward Appearance of Excitement Increases, But The Overtone is Conservative---Visitors Are Coming----Other Industries Are Forgotten in The Wild Rush For Oil Lands and Prospects----Town Values Up Five Fold---Lot That Could Have Been Bought For Five Thousand Is Now Held For Twenty Thousand. The situation here remains seemingly unchanged. The outward appearance of excitement increases, while the undertone is more calm. The plunging in real estate has subsided, because owners are becoming more cautious, and for the other good reason that most of the land is occupied. In the meantime the Lucas geyser continues to pour. There has been no sign of diminishing in the flow nor any change in the character of the fluid. Captain Lucas has been busy all day making preparations for stopping the flow tomorrow. He has been busy with the machine shops and has a rig about in readiness to make the attempt. What the result will be is uncertain. It may be that he will succeed, or on the other hand, the awful force may blow off anything he can put on it. The event is looked upon as the climax and everything now is depending pretty much on this effort. The town continues to fill up. The streeets resemble a great holiday event. Business is seriously impeded by the excitement. Physicians are becoming real estate men. The lumber industry is forgotten in the wild rush for oil land. The business of the district court in the middle of the session has been discontinued, and the court is idle. Throngs of people frequent the streets until late at night and everything is oil. The Standard Oil Company has scores of representatives here. The total amount of money represented is simply astounding. City property without oil prospects has increased five fold in value. A lot near the business center, which could have been bought last week for $5,000 is now unpurchasable at $20,000. Dr. Grant, United States marshal for the Eastern District of Texas, and one time leader of the Republican Party of Texas, is here today to see the well. George M. Craig, of the Craig Oil Company, Toledo, Ohio, arrived last night from Pittsburgh. Pa. He estimated the well as doing from three to five thousand barrels a day. He says the excitement exceeds anything he ever saw before. He will not identify with the field at present. The California oil field has several representatives here; in fact every field in the United States is represented here. A. Templeton of the Southwestern Oil Company left here tonight for Corsicana. There is an effort being made to put on a night train service for Sabine Pass to take the people to spend the night at a large hotel there which is now closed. The city council this afternoon met in special session and granted a franchise over the streets for a gas and oil pipe line company for the purpose of transferring oil and gas. (compiled by W.T.Block)
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