Kilgore East Texas Oil Boom Payroll — Gregg County

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Kilgore East Texas Oil Boom Payroll — Gregg County

Lost Treasure TX • Gregg County County
Description
Kilgore legend of an oil-boom payroll or lease bonus cache from the 1930s East Texas oil field — the world's largest pooled reservoir discovery near Tyler and Longview.
Historical Notes
The East Texas oil boom began with the Daisy Bradford No. 3 gusher in Rusk County on October 3, 1930, and quickly spread through Gregg County around Kilgore. Roughnecks, lease brokers, and independent operators handled enormous weekly cash payrolls before modern banking. Oil-field treasure tales describe foremen burying strongboxes when boomtown crime, fires, or bank failures threatened camp settlements. Kilgore's World's Richest Acre Park commemorates the derrick forest that defined the era. Coordinates mark Kilgore in Gregg County between Tyler and Longview.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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