Santa Rita No. 1 was the discovery well for the Big Lake Oil Field, the first gusher in the Permian Basin, and the first University of Texas producer on land once thought almost worthless. It grew from the faith of Big Lake lawyer Rupert Ricker, who in 1919 secured leases on 431,360 acres of University of Texas land in Crockett, Irion, Reagan, and Upton counties even though no oil had been found within 100 miles. He was soon joined by P.G. Stokes of Big Spring, Frank Pickrell and Haymon Krupp of El Paso, and others. Their wildcat well, drilled one-half mile south of this site on Ollie Parker's ranch, was drilled by Carl Cromwell, with Dee Locklin as tooldresser. Because drilling was slow and hard, the crew named the well for Santa Rita, Patroness of the Impossible. Four years, two months, and a day after the permit was filed, at 3055 feet, well pressure tossed the rig's bucket high into the air, and on May 28, 1923, Santa Rita became a producer. That day brought the Permian Basin its first big find in a region later acclaimed as one of the greatest oil regions in the world. Other spectacular fields followed, and multimillions in royalty dollars later helped make the University of Texas one of the world's most heavily endowed schools. The original rig that brought in Santa Rita now stands on the University campus.