An Oil Strike in 1931 Changed Montgomery County Forever

On December 13, 1931, George W. Strake found oil about seven miles southeast of Conroe. The timing was big. The timber industry had faded, and the Great Depression had hit hard. The oil discovery changed everything fast.

By 1933, the Conroe oilfield had 679 producing wells. That year they pumped 21,483,279 barrels of oil, making the field one of the largest in the United States at the time. Thousands of workers poured into the area. Conroe's population jumped to roughly 5,000 within two years of the strike. Oil shaped the county's economy and growth for the rest of the 20th century.