Surrounded by the lush green pine forests and clear blue lakes of East Texas, Kilgore has a long and unusual history that sets the stage for today’s unique community. Plantation owners settled the area before the Civil War. Kilgore itself was established in 1872 with the coming of the Great Northern Railroad. A quiet farming community of 500, Kilgore was thrust into the international spotlight in the 1930s with the discovery of one of the greatest oil fields of our time. In just ten short days, the town’s population exploded as more that 10,000 fortune seekers swarmed Kilgore from all over the world, By 1939, a forest of nearly 1,200 oil derricks crowded together within the city limits-most concentrated within one square block that became known as the World’s Richest Acre. One well was actually drilled through the terrazzo floor of the Kilgore National Bank that once stood in theRead more…
Driller Park is located on Hunter Street one block east of Commerce, seats 4,500 for baseball. The stadium bears a Texas Historical Marker and is the home of the Kilgore High School baseball team. The stadium is the site of numerous post-season high school playoff games. Phone: 903-984-6009
Eight courses are within a 30-minute drive. Kilgore is the home of two courses: Roy H. Laird Country Club, a nine hole country club with private memberships, and Shallow Creek Golf Club, an 18 hole public course with memberships available. Meadowbrook Country Club – 903-984-3155 Shallow Creek Country Club – 903-984-4513
As a quiet rural community in the fall of 1930, Kilgore suddenly saw its name emblazoned across Texas after discovery of oil in and around the city. Near the heart of the East Texas oilfield, the largest in the lower 48 states. Kilgore at one time boasted a single downtown city block with the densest concentration of oil derricks in the world. In late summer 1931, as tumultuous conditions persisted in the burgeoning new “boomtown,” the state sent a star of its own, legendary Texas Ranger Manuel T. (Lone Wolf) Gonzaullas, to help restore order. And during World War II, oil from East Texas field literally helped “fuel” the efforts of the Allies. More than 80 oil derricks dot the Kilgore skyline today, all topped with lighted stars as reminders that our country’s Stars and Stripes waves free, due in large part to the contribution East Texas oil made toRead more…