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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

In 1918, oil transformed a Texas farming hamlet from 340 people to 16,000 almost overnight; four years later, the boom was over

Oil Texas Pollution

A small Texas farming community known for growing peanuts changed rapidly after oil was discovered in September 1918. Workers, drilling companies and speculators rushed into Desdemona, turning the quiet settlement into a crowded oil boomtown. Tents, shacks and drilling equipment spread across the landscape as newcomers arrived hoping to find work or profit from the sudden rush.

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