Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP) Community Relations Manager Alex Rothwell surprised the Signal Hill City Council Tuesday night, June 22, with a commemorative award marking the 100th anniversary of oil discovery in what became Signal Hill.
The translucent award features an engraving of the first oil-producing well—Alamitos Well No. 1— which first gushed on June 23, 1921, producing 590 barrels of oil per day. It continues to produce five barrels daily, according to Rothwell.
The award will be displayed at Signal Hill City Hall.
As the historic anniversary approached, both SHP and the city council expressed regret at not being able to throw a community celebration at Discovery Well Park, the site of the well—which had become known as the Discovery Well—at the corner of Temple Avenue and E. Hill Street.
See related story: Signal Hill City Council and Signal Hill Petroleum to mark 100th anniversary of hilltop oil discovery
SHP owns and operates the Discovery Well, which Rothwell said is part of the “super giant” oil field of Long Beach that has produced over one billion barrels since 1921.
“Alamitos No. 1 led to the development of one of the most prolific oil fields in the world and helped to establish California as a major oil-producing state,” Rothwell said. “What most people don’t know is that Alamitos No. 1 was not the first attempt to drill for oil in Signal Hill.”
In 1916, Union Oil drilled, but then abandoned, a 3,449-foot deep hole at Wardlow Road and Long Beach Boulevard, just before it would have hit an oil reservoir, Rothwell said.
After World War I, the federal government allowed foreign companies to drill for oil in the U.S., which the British- and Dutch-owned Royal Dutch Shell did, spending $60,000 to lease 240 acres on the southeast side of Signal Hill’s hilltop, Rothwell said. It took nearly three months of drilling to strike oil at 3,114 feet.
“This was the ‘wildcat’ well that changed Signal Hill forever,” Rothwell said, adding that as of this month its cumulative total is 781,573 barrels.
Signal Hill became a city three years after that discovery when its founders voted to incorporate rather than be annexed by the City of Long Beach and pay its per-barrel oil tax.
“This momentous well is the foundation for our city’s rich history,” Rothwell observed, noting that in 1957, Alamitos Well No. 1 became a California registered landmark, number 580.
SHP is currently working with the City of Signal Hill to create a new bronze plaque commemorating the centennial of oil discovery to place on the well.
“We look forward to seeing the bronze plaque—and whatever else we’re going to do throughout the year—to celebrate this historic and momentous event,” Councilmember Lori Woods said.
She noted that the 100th anniversary of Signal Hill itself is coming up in 2024.
“We have a lot to celebrate—a lot of history to remember,” Woods said. “To remind us of where we come from and remind us of where we are and where we’re going.”
Signal Hill Petroleum is an advertiser with the Signal Tribune.
