Titus County was supported by an agricultural economy from before its official founding through the Great Depression of the 1930's. Mount Pleasant, Titus County's largest town, was a small quiet town where farmers did their weekly shopping. Located at the junction of the Paris & Mount Pleasant Railroad and the Cotton Belt Route, Mt. Pleasant was also served by U.S. Highway 1 (now primarily Highway 67), Highway 65 to Pittsburg and points south, and Highway 49 which ran from Daingerfield through Mt. Pleasant, and north toward Talco. Highway 49 North followed the route of today's Texas FM 2152 (the Greenhill Road) and did not run directly to Talco as U.S. Highway 271 does now.
Talco was a small and somewhat remote unincorporated community in far northern Titus County. A few merchants had always inhabited Talco's main street to provide necessities for its sparse population. There was no central government. The Titus County Sheriff's Department provided law enforcement in Talco, but there was no fire department or firefighting equipment. Talco had no water or sewer system, and most streets weren't paved.
Once oil was discovered in early 1936, people flooded into Titus County seeking fame and fortune and hoping to grab their piece of "black gold." Many people swarmed into both towns with the oil companies and drilling rigs, and many more were coming in search of good-paying jobs. The Titus County Court House was flooded with land men researching and filing mineral leases. Mount Pleasant experienced the explosive growth of a boom town, though not as much as Talco. Talco and Mt. Pleasant were simply overwhelmed by the rush of new people arriving on their doorsteps and were unprepared to handle the sudden, massive influx of people. The highway between the towns was suddenly crowed with traffic going back and forth to the new oil field. People anxiously waited to see just how large the Talco field would be in anticipation of the unexpected cash windfall it would bring to many of the county's residents.
The local infrastructure had to change quickly to accommodate the new inhabitants. The rapid growth created a number of problems with Titus County's infrastructure.
Roads designed for the area's normal traffic were over-whelmed by the influx of additional vehicles. Once oil was discovered, traffic increased almost overnight. A constant stream of very heavy equipment began moving into the Talco area as new drilling rigs and other heavy oil field equipment were trucked to the new field. Regular light vehicle traffic increased even more with the hustle and bustle of oil and lease traders going to and from Mt. Pleasant to the oil field. Added to this were vehicles of many new people came to work for the oil and drilling companies, throngs of sightseers who came to witness the events, and the regular traffic that had always been here.
Traffic congestion created problems for people traveling through the center of Mount Pleasant on the main highway. Highway 49 toward Talco was not built to handle heavy traffic, and particularly the very heavy trucks and drilling rigs necessary for oil field work. While it was sufficient for the few native light vehicles comprising its normal traffic load, the highway quickly began to crumble under that added traffic and heavy loads.
Other problems were almost too numerous to mention, and extremely hard to solve all at once. Mt. Pleasant's drinking water supply was terribly inadequate - there wasn't enough water, and what we had was often unsanitary and had a terrible odor. Talco didn't have a municipal water supply or sewer system. Far too little housing was available in both places combined to fulfill the needs of the number of people moving to town, and rent prices skyrocketed until it was out of reach of many local residents.
Beer sales were legal in Titus County, and establishments that served beer sprang up both around the Talco oil field and in Mt. Pleasant. (I guess if you couldn't drink the water, you had to drink something!) There was considerable carousing and fighting, and Talco didn't have a police department.
In order to solve the new problems so both towns could maximize the tremendous benefits brought by the oil boom, Mt. Pleasant citizens worked hand-in-hand with Talco residents to help create an organized Talco city government required to manage the city's development, and to jointly improve the highways we both needed.
The principal topic of discussion at the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce's March 17 meeting was the necessity to secure a better highway to Talco that could handle the greatly increased traffic caused by oil field development. Talco was already making expansion plans, and there was tremendous traffic between the two towns. It was stressed that unless the road was greatly improved, Mt. Pleasant would lose a lot of business it would otherwise realize to other towns, and both Talco and Mt. Pleasant would be materially damaged by inadequate highways.
Texas Highway Commissioner Harry Hines had volunteered to see that road improvements were made as soon as production in the Talco field was proven, and since it now appeared certain that paying quantities if oil were present, every effort had to be made to substantially improve the roads. Of course that would take some time and money, and Mt. Pleasant residents' support was needed to help finance committee trips to Austin to promote new roads before the Highway Commission.
A request by local highway authorities was read asking Mt. Pleasant residents, the Chamber of Commerce and the City Council to cooperate in enforcing Mt. Pleasant's livestock law. Loose cattle had ruined all the flowers and shrubs planted to beautify the highway entering the city, especially near the Cotton Belt overpass.
The Chamber asked the City Council enforce parking ordinances on North Jefferson because traffic congestion there was one reason the Highway Commission wanted to by-pass Mt. Pleasant with Highway One. The Chamber felt the street could be kept open if a few arrests were made and fines were assessed, even on Saturdays.
The Chamber and City knew Mt. Pleasant would soon be confronted with new problems as well as opportunities, and a concerted action by all Titus County citizens was necessary for Mt. Pleasant to realize the full benefits the field would provide. Local leaders realized the scope of the problems after seeing problems that had occurred during the East Texas oil boom in Longview and Tyler. Proper planning and general co-operation was necessary. If Mt. Pleasant let future events shape their own course, they would not receive the benefit they should from oil development.
The Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce called a public meeting at the court house for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 1936. They wanted to obtain ideas from people in Mt. Pleasant and surrounding areas about how to properly plan for Mt. Pleasant's future development in regard to the oil industry.
A building code was needed to prevent shacks from being built in the city limits, and many other things were necessary to guide proper growth in Mt. Pleasant. This and other important items would be discussed at the meeting.
Several Mt. Pleasant people went to Talco on Friday night, March 20 to meet with Talco's newly-organized Chamber of Commerce and to plan Talco's future development. The meeting was held in the rear of the Hopwood Drug store with Roma Kelley in charge, and about forty people attended. Everyone there was very enthusiastic about Talco's prospects for immediate oil development, and Talco residents were preparing to control events so they could build a real city.
Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce President J. H. Hart offered to cooperate with the people of Talco, and Chamber Secretary Delbert Snider spoke about cooperation. Mr. Snider emphasized the opportunity that was available through Titus County's two WPA projects for sanitation and malaria control. Talco citizens voted unanimously to invite Mr. Snider to visit Talco as often as possible to help them with sanitation and malaria control and other Chamber of Commerce work, and the Mt. Pleasant Chamber accepted their invitation.
The matter of organizing an election to incorporate Talco into a Commission form of government was raised. Since it would take too long to properly survey a larger area, it was decided to incorporate just the original town site because the necessary records were already on file and proper field notes were available. The election was planned for April 7th, but the date was later changed to May 25.
Two candidates each for the offices of Mayor and two Commissioners were nominated to be voted on during the same election when Talco voters would decide whether to incorporate their town.
The following Talco citizens and visitors made civic talks at the meeting: Mr. Silver and Mr. Lacy of the Talco Townsite Company, G. W. Cross, Sam C. Holloway, Miss Renner and Mr. Penell of Oklahoma City, Mr. Preston of Winnsboro, district manager of the telephone company, H. L. O'Briant, Postmaster Brown, J. R. Lee, J. S. Moses, Felix Jones, Mr. Walleck, Frank Dannelly, B. L. Gieger, J. B. Osborn, E. Unsell and O. B. Hopwood.
J. B. Osborn had begun drilling a water well to supply Talco with pure drinking water and was making satisfactory progress. People expected plenty of water to be available soon.
The Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce held a second public meeting at the Talco High School auditorium on Friday, March 27, 1936 to discuss development of Titus County's oil field.
More roads through the oil producing areas were absolutely necessary in order to properly develop the field. Highway Department Division Engineer McCarty was a featured speaker and explained how new highways could be secured. A Clarksville delegation interested in a new road running almost directly to Mt. Pleasant and bisecting the present oil field was also present.
Talco's election was held on Monday, May 25, 1936. In a close contest, voters decided to incorporate the town by a vote of 44 for and 33 against. In the simultaneous election, A. V. McElroy was elected as Mayor and J. F. Barton and M. Hazelwood were elected commissioners.
Plans were under way to form the city government, and other officers would soon be appointed so Talco could control situations arising from the oil activities. A city police department would provide Talco with better protection, and much of the oil field lawlessness could be adequately controlled.
Development in and around Talco moved fast. Between June 1st and June 18th, there was so much building activity in and around Talco that it was hardly recognizable. New buildings were being erected all the way from Meadows Curve to Lavada, and the street from the P. & M.P. railroad past the Talco school and into Talco's business district was almost completely lined by small, new wooden business and residential buildings.
A large two-story retail and office building was being erected on Broad Street, Talco's main business thoroughfare. A drug store would occupy the ground floor and offices were being built upstairs. Businesses that were in Talco before the oil boom, including Hopwood's Drug Store, Harper's Grocery, and Jones & Kelley, had remodeled and modernized.
Ten oil derricks towered over Talco's skyline, and one had been moved from the Jones lot where oil was found recently. The derrick over another producing well on the Talco school grounds was still standing. Most of the other eight tests were being drilled quickly and were nearing the depth of producing sand. Since the town site was in proven oil formations, it was almost certain that the eight wells would all be productive.
Four derricks showed southwest of Talco, two near the Windsor well, two others at outpost tests. Other derricks could be seen south of Talco, and they would be watched eagerly because they would determine the field's future width.
Talco was noisy because of the intense activity. You could hear rigs in operation, carpenters hammering and sawing, and noise from traffic passing. The boom was just starting, but Talco already had all appearances of an oil town. Its main street was crowded with cars, and hundreds of people lined sidewalks during the day. Many older residents sat around and watched the bustling crowds. After receiving good prices for their holdings, they had nothing to do but watch others work and wait for their royalty checks when their wells came in.
Elmer Cato had been appointed City Marshal. Late Saturday afternoon, June 27, construction was completed on Talco's temporary holding jail. Talco's temporary jail, like Titus County's first jail, was a single-story building made of laminated two by fours, and heavy iron bars covered the windows. Previously, Titus County deputies had to deal with Talco law-breakers, and three to a dozen drunks were transported from Talco to the Titus County jail in Mt. Pleasant every night, pushing the jail beyond its capacity. Now most could be jailed in Talco and only those whose crimes required a County or District Court trial had to be brought to Mt. Pleasant.
The Western Union Telegraph Company opened a Talco office on August 13, 1936, and had it in full operation that afternoon. C. M. Hopson, who transferred to Talco from Canadian, Texas, managed the office. He began operation with a full complement of equipment, including Simplex automatic transmitters. The Talco office's lines were run from Mt. Pleasant, and all messages were relayed through Mt. Pleasant to give Talco customers prompt service, since the Mt. Pleasant office had recently been enlarged.
Fire endangered downtown Talco on Monday, October 13, 1936. An oil truck loaded with fuel oil caught fire about 2 o'clock that morning, but the heroic action of Charles Sharrard, a member of Talco's police force, prevented a disaster.
Talco didn't have a fire department, so it was impossible to direct a reliable stream of water on the fire. Frankly, even if there had been a fire department, water alone won't douse a large oil fire unless foam is mixed with it because oil is lighter than water and floats on its surface. Burning oil from the truck flowed down street gutters in every direction, and a 500 barrel crude oil storage tank was very close to the burning tanker.
Officer Sharrard climbed on top of the 500 barrel tank and placed quilts between the tank and the burning truck. He continually poured water on quilts to keep the tank cool and prevent it from exploding. It was said he was the only man who stayed this close to the fire, and that everybody else was afraid to get within two blocks of it.
After the close call, Talco citizens held a "Fireman's Fall Festival" that week to raise money to buy a badly needed fire truck. The show company that played the Titus County Fair worked near Talco's business district during the week and donated part of the proceeds to Talco's truck fund. Downtown Talco was decorated for the occasion, and there was lots of interest in the festival. In addition to the money it raised, oil companies operating in the city limits donated to the fund.
Arrangements were made to connect to some of the oil companies' water lines so a suitable water supply would be available to fight fires until a city water system was installed.
On November 27, the Talco City Commission announced that it would accept bids to construct of a water and sewer system until 10 A. M. Saturday, December 12th, when they expected to let a contract to build the systems. Service revenues from the new system would pay for them, and the cost could not exceed $200,000. The City of Talco planned to pass an ordinance authorizing issuing revenue bonds to finance the system after the contract was let.
Unlike other boom towns, Talco was trying to steer the orderly progression of necessary improvements to provide its citizens with conveniences necessary to encourage permanent growth, and not become a shanty town.
Talco finally received their new fire truck on Thursday, February 11, 1937. It was a 1936 Ford-Boyer and was practically identical to Mt. Pleasant's newest truck. The new truck, equipped with 1,200 feet of hose and other equipment, cost $5,000.
By the time the truck arrived, substantial progress had been made in laying the water mains and several fire plugs had been installed. However, it would still be some time before the water could be turned on in the mains. Talco city officials said that the truck's arrival greatly reduced fire insurance premiums, and when the water system was complete the reduction would probably be almost 50 per cent.
The Post Office Department contracted with W. E. McClintock of Mt. Pleasant in March, 1937 to build a new Talco post office. The building was a 25 x 80 foot brick building and was much larger than the existing one. It was specially designed as a Post Office, and was to face east on Mr. McClintock's lot on Fifth Street one block south of the present Post Office. The Post Office Department would install fixtures as soon as the building was complete.
Postal Inspector B. E. Deam visited Talco during the week and recommended employing another clerk to insure better and quicker service. Business had increased greatly, and another clerk was absolutely necessary.
The Mt. Pleasant Rotary Club met in the Panhandle dining room at Talco on Tuesday night, March 9, 1937. A number of Talco business men attended the meeting. After Rev. Duke gave the invocation, about forty men enjoyed a delicious luncheon.
P. E. Wallace of Mt. Pleasant spoke on Rotary principles, explaining how Rotary began and how it was a factor in world peace. He also explained its influence in communities with Rotary Clubs, and the many functions performed through local projects. C. O. Lide, R. F. Lindsay, J. A. Petty and J. A. Cook of the Mt. Pleasant Club also made short talks.
Then the meeting was turned over to B. E. Dunagan, Talco school superintendent and a former member of Gladewater's Rotary, who said he would start forming a Talco Rotary Club as soon as possible. He asked the Talco men to raise their hands if they were interested, and the show of hands indicated that a club could be formed with a good membership.
Talco voted for a paving bond issue in 1937. After contracts were made for concrete paving, the City changed the plans to permit use of some asphalt. A meeting was held later to try to convert the entire project to asphalt, but city officials claimed the bonds had already been sold and the plans could not be changed.
Preliminary work to pave about 25 blocks of Talco streets began on Monday, September 27. Levels and grades were taken, and it was expected that within the next few days the contractors would begin pouring concrete base for the pavement. They agreed to lay as much paving as possible before the rainy season set in so as not to inconvenience the public with detours. An asphalt topping was to be laid over the concrete.
Frank Dannelly, editor of the Talco News, telegrammed the Mt. Pleasant Daily Times on Saturday, October 23, 1937 to announce that a contract to construct a new Talco City Hall had been awarded. He said bids were opened in the old city building at two o'clock and construction funds would come from a $25,000 appropriation set aside in certified bonds.
He said the contract was awarded to O. L. Crigler of Mt. Pleasant, who was lowest bid at $22,100. The next lowest bidder was Grady W. Meadows of Mt. Pleasant at $24,000.
As it turned out, Mr. Meadows advised the Times that the contract was not awarded, but would be awarded on Tuesday, October 25 at 2 p.m.
Both low bids exceeded the $20,000 available for the building, so both bids had to be revised to conform to available funds. Mr. Crigler failed to include certain fixtures specified in his bid, and awarding the contract was delayed to allow him to do so. Mr. Meadows and O. L. Crigler were low bidders, and all other bidders were eliminated.
When the new bids were opened, Mr. Crigler was awarded the contract for the new city hall and fire station with a low bid of $18,250.60, which was $500 less than the Mr. Meadows' bid.
In one short year, Talco had gone from being a very small unincorporated town to being an incorporated city that was well on its way to better things. They had new police and fire departments, a jail, a fire truck, paved streets, a new city hall and fire department building and a post office were being constructed, and a water and sewer system were being laid. The streets were full of new buildings and traffic. Cash was flowing and life was wonderful. It was time to celebrate!
The formal opening celebration in honor of Talco's newly-finished street paving project was set for Friday, December 3rd. In addition to the paving celebration, plans were made to lay the cornerstone of the new city hall, hold a street dance at night, and have the annual Christmas parade. Thousands of visitors were expected for the celebration, and many prominent people from the area were invited.
Principal speakers were Paris publisher Pat Mayse, Mt. Pleasant Mayor Claude D. McDonald, Col. Jim Caviness, president of the Paris & Mt. Pleasant Railway, City Attorney Howard Martin, O. B. Hopwood and other Talco citizens.
The celebration was scheduled as follows:
4:00 p.m. Santa Claus Parade.
4:30 Cornerstone laying.
5:30 Buddy Gordon auto thrill show, with Gordon driving a stock Ford automobile furnished by E. M. Lide Motors through a burning wall.
6:00 Free wiener roast.
7:00 All stores in Talco close.
8:00 Free street dance until midnight.
Affordable housing had become a major problem in both Talco and Mt. Pleasant early in the oil boom. It not only affected new people wanting to move to Mt. Pleasant and Talco to work in the oil field, but also affected people who had lived here for years but rented their homes. Before the oil boom, rental property wasn't an exceptional investment, and housing was available at reasonable prices. In some instances, property owners were glad to rent their property for anything.
When the boom hit and newcomers flooded into Mt. Pleasant and Talco, some landlords became greedy and jacked up rent prices to an exorbitant amount. They figured that people had to have a place to live, and since so many new people were coming to town and housing was scarce, they wouldn't have a choice but to pay the high prices.
A few oil people could afford to pay the high prices, but average salaried workers couldn't afford a rent increase and many were forced to move elsewhere. Mt. Pleasant was rapidly losing a considerable number of people forced out by high rent. Four or five families moved elsewhere the week of March 22 because landlords dramatically raised their rent. They couldn't find other affordable housing, so they moved elsewhere and commuted to work rather than pay excessive rent. This meant that money normally spent for living expenses in Mt. Pleasant was now being spent elsewhere.
The Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce and the Mt. Pleasant Daily Times ran several articles pleading with landlords to consider the big picture rather than seeking fast gains from inflated rents. They reminded landlords that present tenants had kept their rental property on a paying basis during the hard times, and requested landlords to consider the tenant's situation before throwing them out to make way for others who might not take care of their property as well as its present occupants. They reminded landlords that some tenants were more profitable at $25 per month than others were at $50 when property damage was considered.
The article also reminded landlords that Longview would have developed much better and benefited more from the East Texas oil boom if rents there had not risen to exorbitant amounts. The article said that Tyler had benefited much more from the East Texas oil field than towns that were closer to the field due to high rent in Longview. They encouraged landlords to remember this and raise rents gradually rather than asking too much for their property. Otherwise, excessive rent prices would hurt Mt. Pleasant badly.
The major oil companies had another solution to employee housing problems caused by Mt. Pleasant's high rent prices.
Talco operations of the Humble Oil and Refining Company (now Exxon-Mobil) was (and still is) headquartered on the south side of Texas Farm Road 71, about 2 miles east of the intersection of U.S. Highway 271 and Texas Farm Road 71 in Talco.
Their complex was much larger in the 1930s-1950s than it is now, and probably encompassed 80-100 acres in all including the employee camp. It contained office buildings, changing rooms where men could shower and change clothes at the end of the day before going home, a recreation hall, and other buildings. Tools, pipe fittings, pump motor parts, and other equipment was kept in several large warehouses on the grounds. Several large racks were used to store pipe in the open yard.
Employee housing was hard to find, and very expensive if it could be found as noted in the stories above about Mt. Pleasant. To provide reasonably-priced employee housing, and in turn help the company obtain and keep employees, major oil companies established residential housing neighborhoods known as "camps" in the Talco field.
The major oil companies purchased or leased land adjacent to their facilities and developed it into suitable housing areas. They provided access to electricity, running water, and sewer systems. Workers leased home sites from the company at reasonable prices, and could build or move in a house to live in. The camps became residential subdivisions for company employees. The houses weren't elaborate and many weren't well-constructed, but they were livable and reasonably priced. Many had free-standing garages to park a vehicle. All-weather asphalt streets ran between the houses just like city streets. The camp contained small parks where families could picnic. A siren attached to a telephone pole mustered employees to help fight fires if a house caught fire.
The first section of Humble Camp was a 30 acre housing development located immediately outside and south of the fence enclosing the office and warehouses. This part of the camp ran from Humble's east property line west to the Paris & Mt. Pleasant Railroad.
Sufficient drinking water was a problem both in Talco and Mt. Pleasant. Like Mt. Pleasant, Talco didn't have nearly enough drinking water to supply the influx of people who were expected to settle there during the oil boom.
Therefore, Humble negotiated water rights with Hoffmann Club Lake, the nearest source of sufficient supply, to provide drinking water for Humble Camp residents and also to obtain water for drilling. Humble laid a pipe line from the lake to the field and drilled shallow wells adjacent to the property to keep the lake at the same level.
On Monday morning, July 13 an Humble crew began clearing underbrush for a new 50-acre addition to the camp just west of the P. & M.P. railroad from the original camp. The combined camps formed one of the largest employee camps found in any north Texas oil field. Vast improvements were made to the two sites, indicating that Humble was preparing for large and long-run operations in the Talco field.
In addition to Humble, American Petrofina (now Total), and Mobil Oil Companies (now merged with Humble into Exxon-Mobil) also offered their Talco employees company-owned camps near their Talco work centers. The Petrofina and Mobil camps were immediately north of Texas FM 71 just west of the P. & M. P. railroad.
Over the years, many employees began moving out of the camps to build their own homes as economic conditions permitted. Many relocated to Mt. Pleasant and commuted to work in Talco. By the latter 1950s to mid 1960s, the camp population had dropped dramatically and it was closed.
