An owner’s guide to the historic Electra-Burkburnett trend — the 1911-1920 north Texas oil boom corridor that still produces income from family-name leases over a century later.
Get Your Free Mineral ValuationThe Electra-Burkburnett trend is the historic 1911-1920 north Texas oil corridor that runs across Wichita County, Texas. The trend takes its name from two of the four boom towns it spawned:
Electra — western Wichita County. 1911 discovery; rapid early-1910s development.
Burkburnett — northern Wichita County. 1912 S.L. Fowler discovery; population exploded from a few hundred to 30,000+ within months.
Iowa Park — central Wichita County. Mid-1910s expansion of the Burkburnett trend; less explosive than Burkburnett but with substantial production.
Wichita Falls — county seat. Functioned as the regional hub for the entire boom; rail terminal, equipment yards, financial center.
The Electra-Burkburnett trend produces from a stack of named Pennsylvanian-Permian zones unique to this part of north Texas:
Gunsight Sand — the original 1912-1920 pay sand. Shallow, prolific, and the reason the boom exploded as fast as it did. Many wells flowed naturally on early completion.
Wichita County Regular — RRC catch-all field designation for legacy production not assigned to a named field. Most DARA-operated leases (Bywaters, Stringer, Allen, Honaker, Reilly) are filed under this designation.
Strawn Group — Pennsylvanian sequence; deeper mid-century completions targeted Strawn carbonate and sandstone members.
Goen Lime — Pennsylvanian carbonate; modest mid-century field development
For the modern KMA Field revival, the dominant pay is KMA / KMA Lime (a different carbonate target operated by R2Q Operating)
The defining feature of the Electra-Burkburnett trend is the longevity of its original family-name leases. Many of the leases originally signed during the 1912-1920 boom era are still on production today — in some cases under the exact same lease names that appeared on the original 1912 deeds. Most are now operated by DARA Operating Company:
Second Bywaters — 1912 lease; still producing 113+ years later
Stringer, J. W. — 1918 lease
Bywaters — original Burkburnett family-name lease, Gunsight pay
Allen, Honaker, Reilly — legacy Electra-Burkburnett family-name leases
First National (1938) — later boom-era lease, operated by S&G Oil
Reilly NCT-2 (1939) — satellite Reilly position
The depth of operator tenure on these leases — some over a century — is unusual even for north Texas. It reflects the persistence of the original Gunsight pay sand and the operating discipline of consolidator firms like DARA.
If you’ve inherited a mineral interest in the Electra-Burkburnett trend, your interest is most likely in one of these cities:
Sell Mineral Rights in Burkburnett, TX
If your mineral interest traces back to the 1911-1920 Electra-Burkburnett boom era — especially on a DARA Operating Company family-name lease — Buckhead Energy can value the future cash flow stream and provide a free written offer with no obligation.
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