Oil Cities: The Making of North Louisiana’s Boomtowns, 1901-1930

International oil companies navigated the local, segregated landscape of north Louisiana in the first decades of the twentieth century by adapting their labor, tools, and investments to meet the unique economic, social, political, and environmental dynamics of the region.

Format: Hardback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 27 May 2024
Publisher: University of Texas Press

In 1904, the discovery of oil in rural parishes of North Louisiana, just outside Shreveport, sparked a rush of migrants from across the United States and the world to take part in the booming oil industry. The resulting boomtowns, notably Oil City, became known for their violence, drinking, and rough living. However, North Louisiana's large Black population also faced virulent white supremacy in the oil fields and the courtrooms, with one Black woman standing to become the wealthiest oil heiress in America. In his book "Oil Cities," Henry Wiencek explores the local experiences of migrants, farmers, sex workers, and politicians as they navigated the dizzying changes to their communities during the oil boom. This first historical monograph on the region's dramatic oil boom reveals a contested history, in which the oil industry had to adapt its labor, tools, and investments to meet North Louisiana's unique economic, social, political, and environmental dynamics.

Weight: 426g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477329177