The History of Van, Texas
Van is a Van Zandt County town about twelve miles east of Canton whose history changed overnight in 1929, when oil was discovered beneath it. The Van field also became a landmark in Texas oil history — according to the Handbook of Texas, the first completely unitized field in Texas and the mid-continent.
Here's how Van came to be.
A Quiet Farming Village
Before the oil, Van was a small farming community like countless others in East Texas — by the Handbook of Texas's account, a rural place with a school, a post office, and a general store, surrounded by the farms and fields of Van Zandt County. Its post office dated to 1894, when schoolteacher Henry Vance opened it and the community was renamed Van for resident Vannie Tunnell and postmaster Vance.
That quiet was about to be shattered. In February 1927 the Pure Oil Company began studying the subsurface around Van with early geophysical tools — the refraction seismograph and torsion balance — and in July and August 1928 it leased a large block of acreage around the town.
The 1929 Discovery
In the first half of 1929, Pure drilled two lines of core holes — one running north to south, the other east to west — to pinpoint the highest part of the underground structure. Then came the well that made history: the Jarman No. 1 (spelled Jarmon in some records), drilled on W. T. Jarman's property and completed on October 13, 1929. It flowed 147 barrels of oil in its first hour from a depth of 2,710 feet in the Woodbine sand.
Van became a boomtown almost overnight: the Handbook of Texas records that thirty buildings, including hotels and stores, went up in only ten days. By April 15, 1930, the field had twenty-four producing wells yielding 20,000 barrels a day, and that year the Texas Short Line Railway was extended to Van from Grand Saline.
A Model Oil Field
Van field became more than just a boomtown story. Because Humble, Shell, the Texas Company and Sun had all taken leases around the discovery well, the companies agreed to unitize 5,800 acres around the Jarman No. 1 and develop it as a single operation, with Pure — holding 81.7 percent — as operator. That made Van the first completely unitized field in Texas and the mid-continent, and the arrangement prevented wasteful competition among the companies.
It was also the first discovered of five large-volume Woodbine fields in Northeast Texas, alongside Cayuga, Long Lake, Neches and the giant Hawkins field. Van field produced for decades — nearly 502 million barrels by January 1, 1994 — and by the time Pure became a division of Union Oil in 1965 it counted 591 wells. Today Van remains a small town shaped by that 1929 discovery, its oil heritage still part of the local identity alongside its 'Vandal' schools.
Timeline
1894
Schoolteacher Henry Vance opens a post office, and the community takes the name Van.
1927
In February, Pure Oil Company begins subsurface studies around Van using the refraction seismograph and torsion balance.
1928
Pure leases a large block of acreage around the town of Van in July and August.
1929
Pure drills core holes to map the structure; the Jarman No. 1 discovery well is completed October 13, and thirty buildings go up in ten days.
1930
The field has twenty-four producing wells by April; the Texas Short Line Railway reaches Van from Grand Saline.
1965
Pure Oil becomes a division of Union Oil; Van field counts 591 wells.
FAQ: History of Van
Oil was discovered at Van on October 13, 1929, when the Pure Oil Company's Jarman No. 1 well was completed, flowing 147 barrels in its first hour from the Woodbine sand. Within ten days, thirty buildings including hotels and stores had gone up.
According to the Handbook of Texas, Van field was the first completely unitized oil field in Texas and the mid-continent: instead of drilling competitively, Pure, Humble, Shell, the Texas Company and Sun agreed to develop 5,800 acres as a single unit with Pure as operator, which prevented wasteful competition.
Before oil, Van was a rural farming community with a school, a post office, and a general store. After the October 1929 discovery, thirty buildings — including hotels and stores — were built in only ten days.
The Jarman No. 1 was the discovery well that opened the Van oil field, completed on October 13, 1929, on W. T. Jarman's property. It flowed 147 barrels of oil in its first hour from 2,710 feet in the Woodbine sand, launching Van's transformation into a boomtown.
East Texas guides
Region-wide guides that put Van in context — where to go, what things cost, and how people actually live here.
A Brief History of East Texas
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