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Luling is a city in Caldwell and Guadalupe counties, Texas, United States, along the San Marcos River.[1] The population as of the 2020 census was 5,599. [edit] 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. Luling was founded in 1874 as a railroad town and became a rowdy center for the cattle drivers on the Chisholm Trail. Contempt of the law by the cowboys 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 a sizeable Jewish population, in the late-19th century, Luling began a long, slow, period of growth, and by 1925 the population reached 1,500. One of the most significant events in Luling's history was the discovery of oil by Edgar B. Davis.[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 , producing . To repay his loans, Davis contracted each to Atlantic Oil and Magnolia Oil at $.50 a barrel, plus another to Magnolia at $.75 per barrel. Davis' discovery opened up an oilfield long and 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 of oil per year, and oil formed much of Luling's economy for the next 60 years.[3] As oil grew in importance in the 1930s and 1940s, the railroads that helped form the town declined and largely pulled out of Luling. [edit] Research Tips
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