(Otto Mation) Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 houstonmacbro has added a photo to the pool: Click here to view this photo at the HAIF Photo Pool on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Otto Mation) Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 houstonmacbro has added a photo to the pool: View the full article 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Reading up on the subject and I'm very intrigued. Tell me more about Pierce Junction. Texas State Historical Association says a small city called Myrtle Texas, originally known as Myrtle Turf became the Pierce Junction oilfield. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvmbh MYRTLE, TEXAS. Myrtle, originally known as Myrtle Turf, was two miles south of Houston in what became the Pierce Junction oilfield in southern Harris County. A Myrtle Turf post office operated from 1839 to 1843. The community reported a population of 153 in 1940, when it was on the International and Great Northern line. By the 1980s only scattered dwellings remained at the town site. PIERCE JUNCTION, TEXAS. Pierce Junction was at the intersection of the Southern Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads seven miles south of central Houston, but within the Houston city limits, in southern Harris County. The community was named in 1859 for its location at the intersection of what was then the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado and the Houston Tap railroads. Pierce Junction had a post office from 1876 to 1878. Ed Taylor found gas in his water well, and drilling that followed resulted in the discovery of oil in 1906. A much more extensive strike was made in 1921, and the Pierce Junction oilfield yielded 88,740,836 barrels through 1984. In 1939 the community had forty inhabitants and two businesses. By the 1960s Pierce Junction lay entirely within the city limits of Houston. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/htp12 Pierce Junction Oil Field in 1927 - Where the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium Sit Today https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2014/04/06/the-weekly-oil-gas-follies-29/#429de0753211 Solarized Effect of the Pierce Junction Oil Field, Houston, TX https://oilmanmagazine.com/article/solarized-effect-pierce-junction-oil-field-houston-tx/ 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Pierce Junction Salt Dome, Texas- Allied Geophysics Laboratory http://www.agl.uh.edu/pdf/theses/2014-suleyman.pdf Houston Geological Society An Introduction to Gulf Coast Oil Field http://cbth.uh.edu/outreach/fieldtripguides/Houston Geological Society_1941_Gulf Coast.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Today I drove to Holmes & Almeda. That's supposed to be the heart of the junction? I see railroad crossings, but not sure if that's the particular ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 You won't see much action there. There are not many producing wells left in the field, and they are over by the golf course. The best place to see oil wells in the Houston area is off of 45 between Dixie Farm Road and El Dorado, which is the Webster Unit, operated by Denbury Resources. It was called the Friendswood Field at one time, and owned by ExxonMobil until a few years ago. You can see the well heads out in the open fields on either side of the freeway, but especially on the West side. I can't think of anything else reasonably close. Here's an area with some wells Andrews, TX and here's another one in California, the Midway Sunset field, and further North of that, the South Belridge field. Back in Texas, here's a wide view of the heart of the Eagleford. Each of the spots is a well pad with 1 or more wells on it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Railroad commission- SSCI Environmental https://www.sscienvironmental.com/tag/railroad-commission/ The RRC map shows circular configuration at wells located at the Pierce Junction Salt Dome near State Highway 288 (SH 288) in south Houston (Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), RRC Public GIS Viewer). The concentric rings of wells that radiate from the salt dome are shown extending towards SH 288 and Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Parkway), just north of Pearland. Shown here is an aerial image of the Pierce Junction Salt Dome depicting the oil and gas activities in this area of south Houston in 1953 (Google Earth, 1953, Aerial Image). 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Workers on break at the Pierce Junction oil field, where NRG Stadium now stands, 1928. Sloane Gallery. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 1 hour ago, hindesky said: Workers on break at the Pierce Junction oil field, where NRG Stadium now stands, 1928. Sloane Gallery. I first thought that was a cable tool rig, but after more review, it's a rotary rig, one of the early ones. Somewhere, I've got a picture of my paternal grandfather working on a rig like that near Corsicana in the mid-1920's. They built the derrick for each new well, unlike today, where the derrick is part of the rig. Notice the 4 spade type bits at the lower left of the picture. Also notice the awesome protective fedoras the men are wearing to reduce the impact of falling items(that's humor, folks). The guy on the far left must be the company man or a manager, he's wearing a tie and isn't as dirty as the rest of them. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 What is this used for? There is a continuous line of them on Almeda. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 19 minutes ago, Highrise Tower said: What is this used for? There is a continuous line of them on Almeda. Looks like it is used to fill rail cars. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 1 hour ago, BeerNut said: Looks like it is used to fill rail cars. Yeah, were I work we have lots of these loading out rail cars and trucks depending on the product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbcu Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 those underground wells and stuff were a cancer cluster at one time out there https://www.google.com/search?q=kennedy+heights+cancer&oq=kennedy+heights+cancer&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.2791j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Tower 134 - Houston (Pierce Junction) http://txrrhistory.com/towers/134/134.htm The first railroad in Texas was constructed by the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado (BBB&C) Railroad from Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou west to Stafford in 1853. In those days, Harrisburg's rival was Houston located on Buffalo Bayou a few miles further upstream, and the concerned citizens of Houston sought a railroad to connect their town with the BBB&C. The Columbia Tap served the sugar plantations south of Houston, one of which was owned by Thomas W. Peirce (who used the uncommon "ei" spelling) at Arcola. In 1859, a small community was founded at the junction of the two railroads and was named Peirce Junction. The contractor that had built it, William Sledge, acquired the railroad in a judgment, and in 1870, Peirce became part of small investor group that purchased the railroad from Sledge under a new charter, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio (GH&SA) Railway. Peirce soon bought out the other investors, and the line was commonly known as the "Peirce Line". For the GH&SA, the departure point from the main line was officially known as "Stella", but it was located near "Pierce" Junction, a revised spelling from the way Thomas Peirce spelled his name. [It appears that this spelling change was forced by the Post Office when the town of "Pierce Junction" (spelled "ie") was granted a post office in 1876. Although the town of Pierce Junction didn't last long - the post office was closed in 1878 - the Pierce Junction name with the revised spelling stuck.] In 1918, the GH&SA opened a new route into Houston (via West Junction and Tower 13) and abandoned the line from Stella to Chaney Junction (Almeda Road appears to be constructed on the former GH&SA right-of-way). It is not known whether there was ever a manned railroad tower to control Peirce Junction in the early days. Railroad Commission records state that Tower 134 with a 10-function cabin interlocker was commissioned at Pierce Junction on March 27, 1929. A cabin interlocker would indicate that at least one of the lines was seldom used, and this was the case for the Columbia Tap rail line by the late 1920s. As railroads developed more favorable routes into town, the Columbia Tap was abandoned some distance north of Peirce Junction. The former GH&SA line is still intact and sees regular Union Pacific traffic through Pierce Junction. A major oil field that was discovered beneath the rail junction in 1906 (in what, ironically, is known as a "shallow PIERCEment salt dome", so-called because heat and pressure have forced the dome to rise enough that it "pierces" overlying sediments.) The Pierce Junction Oil Field has produced more than 90 million barrels of oil, some of which undoubtedly must have moved by tank car through the interlocker at Pierce Junction. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 On 6/8/2020 at 2:27 AM, hbcu said: those underground wells and stuff were a cancer cluster at one time out there https://www.google.com/search?q=kennedy+heights+cancer&oq=kennedy+heights+cancer&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.2791j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Kennedy Heights is nowhere close to Pierce Junction. There were no wells in the Kennedy Heights area, according to the Railroad Commission maps. There were demolished storage pits that allegedly caused issues. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 A Trip to the Oil Fields, 1921 https://ricehistorycorner.com/2015/10/27/a-trip-to-the-oil-fields-1921/ They also visited the Pierce Junction field, which was quite a bit closer to Rice, roughly where the Astrodome was later built. You could actually see it from campus if you got up on top of a building. It was also a big find and it was brand new in 1921: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdenker Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 I'm confused. Several of the pictures mention the oil field was exactly where NRG stadium exists today. But the actual salt dome and production wells that I have seen are all a fair bit south, more or less where Reed Road intersects Almeda Road. That's not really close to NRG stadium. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 42 minutes ago, cdenker said: I'm confused. Several of the pictures mention the oil field was exactly where NRG stadium exists today. But the actual salt dome and production wells that I have seen are all a fair bit south, more or less where Reed Road intersects Almeda Road. That's not really close to NRG stadium. Anyone? There may have been a few wells over towards the NRG site, but the actual oil filed is further South. Scroll up to Highrise Tower's post that has a Railroad Commission map of wells, plus an aerial phot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 Houston Public Library Digital Archives has some great collections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 What were the roads and freeways like back when Pierce Junction was booming? I would like to take a look back at the life style back then. I know a few key roads were Almeda and Holmes. Were there any other big roads around back then? What about Airport Blvd? I believe West Bellfort/Willowbend/Buffalo Speedway wasn't even constructed yet. I did hear about a fatal car wreck near Pierce Junction, on the San Antonio Highway. Where exactly was that? Modern day Highway 288? What about schools and other landmarks? I believe the city "Myrtle, Texas" was a long Almeda road. I bet they had schools. Lastly, just how vast was the Pierce Junction Oil Field? Was it thousands of acres spanning all the way to Missouri City and Stafford, TX? Or was it more localized to the Astrodome area (Almeda/Holmes/Etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Thread title: State of Buffalo Speedway & Holmes Road. What's the next phase of this valuable land? UT's land is worth $200 million and TMC's (failed) land is also worth $200 million. 3 proposals have failed. - Europa At Houstonian Lakes; the 500-Acre Residential Mixed-Use Development. - University of Texas' Data Research Center. - Texas Medical Center's TMC BioPort. As I've said previously: It would be an easy transaction between the University of Texas and the Texas Medical Center to trade/sell the land. Both corporations are looking to develop the land. Just sell it to one another, at cost! I read once on HAIF, and I hope it's true, that the land is too expensive to build single family homes, town homes, or multifamily apartments. The 800-acres is suited for corporate campuses. Like an Exxon headquarters. * I really wish these parcels would be sold for life science use . Reference: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) On 10/17/2022 at 1:23 PM, Highrise Tower said: What were the roads and freeways like back when Pierce Junction was booming? I would like to take a look back at the life style back then. I know a few key roads were Almeda and Holmes. Were there any other big roads around back then? What about Airport Blvd? I believe West Bellfort/Willowbend/Buffalo Speedway wasn't even constructed yet. I did hear about a fatal car wreck near Pierce Junction, on the San Antonio Highway. Where exactly was that? Modern day Highway 288? By our standards no freeways in 1920s Houston. Not sure when Wayside Drive was completed but that was neither a road to another part of Texas, nor a regular multimodal city street, so it may have been viewed as the equivalent of a strange traffic bypass — even though development including single family homes still occurred along it in convenient areas. My guess is that San Antonio Highway was our Old Spanish Trail, and got there via two-lane asphalt at most. Remember that the first mile of concrete pavement in the world, in Detroit, was completed in the 1910s. Edited October 28, 2023 by strickn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 A little fact checking amends Detroit's claim a little bit but they were still the first network of more than just a couple miles of modernish concrete and they reached 60+ miles of it during the early years of that decade. Their famed first milelong stretch of Woodward Avenue between Six Mile and Seven Mile was done in 1909. But I haven't sought any similar archives about where were the very early driveable parkways in Texas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Apparently the first substantial stretch of city street was only in 1914. Will have to go check it out next time I'm that way, Lord willing. https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/22062016/texas-oldest-concrete-road-is-celebrated-316/amp/ (In a Texas city that is) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Highrise Tower said: If by 'life science' you mean A Whole Flock of Astroworlds, then yes, that sounds like an idea whose time has come. Edited October 28, 2023 by strickn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 On 10/27/2023 at 10:34 PM, strickn said: By our standards no freeways in 1920s Houston. Not sure when Wayside Drive was completed You might also look up how Holmes Road-Griggs Road connected to Ship Channel area suburbs, parkways and ferry crossings, back before even the Washburn and Baytown Tunnels were opened 70 years ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 8 hours ago, strickn said: You might also look up how Holmes Road-Griggs Road connected to Ship Channel area suburbs, parkways and ferry crossings, back before even the Washburn and Baytown Tunnels were opened 70 years ago. Prior to the Baytown Tunnel being opened, drivers would take a causeway from the extension of Lee Drive through the Goose Creek oil field to Hog Island, then take a ferry to Morgan's Point. The pilings for the causeway were still in place in this 1978 aerial. I've seen a website where someone explored Hog Island and found some remnants of the ferry landing and such. I'll see if I can find it again. Here's some stories from the Baytown newspaper https://ourbaytown.com/hogisland.htm 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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