The 1920s oil boom changed every aspect of life in the sleepy town of Breckenridge, Texas--employment, social activities, housing, religion, and education--and with these changes came the beginnings of modern American culture.
Suddenly ranchers became oilmen, public school teachers became oil wildcatters, and enterprising businessmen moved in to provide this small town with sustenance, housing, and entertainment. Within two years, Breckenridge's population grew to nearly thirty thousand, and this roughneck oil boomtown became a vigorous commercial city of schools, churches, and modern...