Sunday, November 11, 2012

Wildcatter Weekend - Spindletop The Town

About Gladys City

Originally platted out by Patillo Higgins in the 1890s, Gladys City was to be a perfect industrial city, featuring factories, schools, churches, homes, parks and businesses. When the Lucas Gusher blew in on January 10, 1901, there was no more time to be perfect. Businessmen (and some women) arrived and started building as quickly as possible to begin servicing oilfield workers and their families. By the early 1970s, nothing much remained of the original Gladys City - situated near Highland Avenue and West Port Arthur Road. In 1976, the re-created Gladys City was built as a Bicentennial project. Once completed, Gladys City was gifted to the state and is now governed by Lamar University. Through a self-guided tour, visitors to Gladys City experience 15 replica buildings filled with objects from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries that depict life during the first Spindletop oil boom. From a saloon and post office to a general store and livery stable, visitors get a glimpse of what it might have been like to work and live in the historic oilfield.


Gladys City complements and enhances the educational, social and cultural mission of Lamar University, a member of the Texas State University System, through the collection, preservation and interpretation of artifacts, representative structures, and other items of social and cultural significance to Spindletop, 1890-1910.


I had to take a peek for myself before the exhibition began.

Each building was fully furnished with antiques that would have been used at that time.

This was the only reference I found in the town of women riding sidesaddle.  The riding clothes would be suitable, especially for a hot Texas summer day!
This is the newest building, a fully furnished print shop.

There were many pictures of oil gushers, but this one was the most interesting to me.
A real camera of the day.  Not exactly pocket sized!
A bathtub.. not in the bathroom, but in the kitchen.  Where else could you get a hot bath?
I loved the general store.
EXCUSE ME.... Can I buy these... please!
Oh my.. look at this leather hat box!
..and this elegant lace dress!

2 comments:

Crossing the Delebear said...

I think you might like the Historic village (properly 'The Governor Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village') at the Mayborn up in Waco. They just reopened in early May after a total reno and I love what they did to the general store. They have a couple sidesaddles in the collection, it might be a possibility that they will be rotated out into one of the climate controlled buildings.

Anonymous said...

http://hapna.com/pre/buypropeciaonline/#12974 propecia peak results - how to buy propecia online