A Guide to the Walter Benona Sharp Papers, 1865-1957
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator: | Sharp, Walter B. (Walter Benona) | |
| Title: | Walter Benona Sharp Papers | |
| Dates: | 1865-1957 | |
| Abstract: | Walter Benona Sharp (1870-1912) was an oilman and inventor. | |
| Extent: | 1 ft. 8 in. | |
| Language: | Materials are written in English. | |
| Repository: | Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,The University of Texas at Austin | |
Biographical Note
Walter Benona Sharp (1870-1912) was an oilman and inventor. He began his career contracting for the drilling of water wells in and around Dallas before working as a driller for Gladys City Oil and Gas Manufacturing Company in its first test for oil on Spindletop Hill. Because of quicksand Sharp was forced to abandon the well at 418 feet only thirty yards from the spot where, eight years later, the first gusher of the Spindletop oilfield came in. Sharp was also a pioneer driller at Sour Lake and Corsicana. Over the years he perfected a method for drilling in soft soil, which allowed drillers to finally penetrate the quicksands at Spindletop. After Spindletop’s success he began trading in oil leases and did a large drilling-contracting business. In 1902 he formed the Moonshine Company with J. R. Sharp, Ed Prather and Howard R. Hughes, which would later become the Texas Company. Together with Hughes and J. S. Cullinan he also developed the Sharp-Hughes Rock Bit.
Bibliography: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. " SHARP, WALTER BENONA," (accessed September 18, 2009).
Scope and Contents
The papers concern Sharp’s work as a driller and inventor as evidenced in letters, speeches, interviews, memoranda, charts, payrolls, vouchers, insurance policies, bank book, lease, magazines, pamphlets, clippings, maps and photographs. Included are an abstract of geophysics education; a list of prospective interviews for a history of Texas oil pioneers; and "Founding of the Texas Company: Some of Its Early History and a Few Reminiscences."
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted access.
Index Terms | ||
| Subjects (Persons) | ||
| Cullinan, J. S. (Joseph Stephen), 1860-1937 | ||
| Hughes, Howard, 1869-1924 | ||
| Prather, E. C. (Edward C.), b. 1855 | ||
| Sharp, Estelle B. (Estelle Boughton), 1873-1965 | ||
| Sharp, Walter B. (Walter Benona), 1870-1912—Archives. | ||
| Subjects (Organizations) | ||
| Gladys City Oil, Gas and Manufacturing Company | ||
| Sharp-Hughes Tool Company | ||
| Subjects | ||
| Core drilling. | ||
| Oil exploration | ||
| Oil fields. | ||
| Petroleum industry and trade. | ||
| Spindletop Oil Field (Beaumont, Tex.) | ||
| Technological innovations | ||
| Places | ||
| Baytown (Tex.) | ||
| Beaumont (Tex.) | ||
| Corsicana (Tex.) | ||
| Dallas (Tex.) | ||
| Houston (Tex.) | ||
| Shreveport, (La.) | ||
| Sour Lake (Tex.) | ||
Related Material
See also Sharp (Mrs. Walter Benona "Estelle Boughton") Papers, 1899-1937 |
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Separated Material
Several publications on the petroleum industry from the papers have been separated to the Texas Collection Library. |
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Walter Benona Sharp Papers, 1865-1957, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers