LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) – When was a church, not just a church?
Look no further than the East Texas Oil Boom for the answer.
“It’s not just the economic story,” Allysah Boyd, assistant manager of East Texas Oil Museum said. “Because you hear all about the derricks, you hear about the roughnecks and just the big population change… but you don’t think about the community that was already there and how they were affected.”
For scholars like Boyd, bringing up different points of view connects the past to the present.
Oil Boom Churches
“I think it’s easier to relate,” Boyd said. “You’re not just reading something out of a history book, you’re sitting there learning first-hand accounts of all the small stories that took place.”
While the East Texas oil boom certainly boosted the economy, she’s most interested in how it affected people.
“We went from 500 people to almost 10,000 people, so it opens up a lot of chaos,” Boyd said.
According to her research, the city’s infrastructure didn’t allow for the influx of people — so some buildings became dual purpose — like churches.
“It brings a lot of people looking for jobs, but also brings in an increase in crimes,” Boyd said.
And so that’s why many churches also became jails.
“We actually had the Texas Rangers come in and I think it’s documented that in an old Baptist church they put almost 300 people chained up into the church because of what was going on,” Boyd said.
And aside from increasing crime, there was also increasing diversity.
“So many people of different backgrounds were coming in and I thought it was really interesting there was a Jewish synagogue during that time period as well,” Boyd said.
And the churches themselves even participated in the boom.
“There’s an image with five derricks surrounding the church and how they were affected by the oil boom. The actually found oil under the church,” Boyd said.
How the Oil Boom impacted East Texas people, their churches
If ya can’t beat ‘em — join em!
The lecture covering the oil boom and church will be held on Tuesday, September 29 at the Longview Public Library at 5:30 p.m.
The lecture will also be livestreamed on the library’s Facebook page.
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