Editing Luling, Texas (section)

== History ==
The town was named after a New York banker, Charles Luling. He was a personal friend of Thomas Wentworth Pierce and provided the financing for the railroad as well the purchase of the land that became Luling.<ref>Deeds of Caldwell County, Texas. ''Galveston Newspaper'' (1874)</ref> Prior to the founding of the town, a small farming community named Atlanta was established nearby, with residents associating themselves with the newly founded Luling, causing Atlanta to fade.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TSHA {{!}} Atlanta, TX (Caldwell County) |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/atlanta-tx-caldwell-county |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=www.tshaonline.org}}</ref>

Luling was founded in 1874 as a railroad town<ref name="Texas Handbook 2">{{cite web| last=Smyrl| first=Vivian Elizabeth| title=Luling, TX| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjl17| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> and became a rowdy center for the [[Cattle drives in the United States|cattle drivers]] on the [[Chisholm Trail]]. Contempt of the law by the [[cowboy]]s helped Luling become known as the "toughest town in Texas". After the great cattle drives ended in the late 1880s, Luling quieted down to a town of about 500 and cotton ruled the local economy. Perhaps due to arrival of immigrants, including [[History of the Jews in Texas|a sizeable Jewish population]],{{Explain|date=September 2018}} in the late-19th century, Luling began a long, slow, period of growth, and by 1925 the population reached 1,500.<ref name="Ency Southern Jewish Communities">{{cite encyclopedia| title=Luling, TX| url=http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/tx/luling.html| encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities| access-date=14 March 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314170516/http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/tx/luling.html| archive-date=14 March 2014| url-status=dead}}</ref>

One of the most significant events in Luling's history was the discovery of oil by Edgar B. Davis.<ref name="Texas Handbook 2" /> Davis mortgaged everything he owned to finance drilling operations around Luling. On August 9, 1922, the Rafael Rios No. 1 well struck oil at {{convert|2161|ft|m}}, producing {{convert|150|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}. To repay his loans, Davis contracted {{convert|2|Moilbbl|m3}} each to Atlantic Oil and Magnolia Oil at $.50 a barrel, plus another {{convert|2|Moilbbl|m3}} to Magnolia at $.75 per barrel.<ref name="Handbook of Texas">{{cite web| title=Davis, Edgar Byram| url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fda36| work=Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association| access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref>

Davis' discovery opened up an oilfield {{convert|12|mi}} long and {{convert|2|mi|0}} wide. The economy quickly moved from the railroad and agriculture to oil. The population of the town rapidly increased to over 5,000. By 1924, the Luling Oil Field was producing over {{convert|15|Moilbbl|m3}} of oil per year, and oil formed much of Luling's economy for the next 60 years.<ref name="Handbook of Texas" />

As oil grew in importance in the 1930s and 1940s, the railroads that helped form the town declined and largely pulled out of Luling.