Ranger College's Golemon Library and Kilgore College's East Texas Oil Museum are proud to announce the traveling exhibit, Black Gold: A History of Texas Oil Boom Towns, will take up a two-month residence at the Oil Museum. From January 25 - March 26, 2025 the exhibit will be available to museum visitors in their Blue Room.

The 1917 Ranger Oil Boom sparked changes to Eastland County that we are still feeling today. It was well timed to support efforts in World War I and provide employment to returning soldiers, but it was not only the workers who experienced the boom. This was the first boom in American history in which families were a significant factor in the growth and development of the boom communities. This exhibit tells the story of life in the oil patch and the people who made it work. It tells about the criminals and the heroes and the technologies. It explores what oil means to Texas and how oil booms are portrayed to the world. This is the story of Texas oil and the people who made it happen.

This exhibit was created with funding from Humanities Texas. Humanities Texas develops and supports diverse programs across the state, including lectures, oral history projects, teacher institutes, museum exhibitions, and documentary films.

For more information, please visit Humanities Texas online at http://www.humanitiestexas.org or call 512.440.1991.