Signal Hill City Council and Signal Hill Petroleum to mark 100th anniversary of hilltop oil discovery

On June 23, 1921, “black gold” gushed 100 feet into the air from a new “spud” drilled into the ground near the corner of Hill Street and Temple Avenue in Signal Hill. 

After that first discovery of oil—which became Alamitos Well No. 1 and still produces oil today—the hilltop became known as “Porcupine Hill” due to the 270 wooden oil derricks that popped up all over Signal Hill during the next two years, operated by 37 companies and producing over 140,000 barrels of oil per day.

During its June 9 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council and Community Relations Manager Alex Rothwell of Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP)—which owns and operates Alamitos Well No. 1—agreed to mark the 100^th anniversary of the well with a SHP presentation at the next council meeting on June 22. 

The council will also discuss at that meeting whether to add a bronze plaque to the specific well site. Discovery Well Park at 2200 Temple Ave., at the corner of E. Hill Street, already marks the area with a monument explaining the well’s significance. 

Councilmember Lori Woods, who had brought up observing the anniversary to the council, also suggested a speaker series at the Signal Hill Public Library over the course of this 100^th year, once pandemic restrictions start easing.

“We’re backlogged on our celebrations,” Woods observed.

Among the speakers, Woods suggested former Signal Hill city manager Ken Farfsing, who last year published “Black Gold in Paradise: Reclaiming Signal Hill—A Development Story.”

The council has been putting aside funds to celebrate Signal Hill’s 100^th anniversary of incorporation in 2024, but not to mark the discovery of oil, Woods noted. 

Signal Hill had been an unincorporated area of Los Angeles that residents chose to incorporate in 1924 to avoid being annexed by Long Beach and incur its per-barrel oil tax. 

Rothwell said SHP is excited about the centennial of oil discovery and would like to have hosted a big celebration at Discovery Well Park this month. 

However, due to pandemic restrictions, SHP will instead advertise historical information about Alamitos Well No. 1 in the Signal Tribune to help educate the community about the well’s significance.  

SHP’s presentation during the June 22 council meeting will highlight Alamitos Well No. 1’s production history, up through today, Rothwell said. 

Woods suggested sharing SHP’s presentation on the City’s cable channels and social media to further educate the community. 

Before oil was discovered in 1921, the hilltop had homes with views built amid grazing and farming land. Before that, it was used by the Puva tribe to communicate with, or signal, other Native tribes on Catalina Island. Spanish settlers called it “Loma Sental,” or Signal Hill.

The next regular Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday, June 22 at 7 p.m.