Big Lake Santa Rita Oil Field Payroll — Reagan County

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Big Lake Santa Rita Oil Field Payroll — Reagan County

Lost Treasure TX • Reagan County County
Description
Reagan County legend of wildcat oil payrolls cached near Big Lake after the 1923 Santa Rita No. 1 gusher launched the Permian Basin boom south of Midland.
Historical Notes
Santa Rita No. 1 blew in on May 28, 1923, on University of Texas lands near Big Lake in Reagan County, opening the Permian Basin oil province that made Midland and Odessa administrative centers. Oil-field payroll and lease-bonus folklore often places buried strongboxes where roughnecks and contractors worked beyond banking reach. Big Lake remains the Reagan County seat in the heart of the Santa Rita field. Related entry: "Midland Oil Boom Specie Cache — Midland County" documents the basin hub variant. Castle Gap treasure legends lie west in Upton County (separate database entries). Coordinates mark Big Lake in Reagan County south of Midland.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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