The Rodman-Noel Oil Field was discovered in 1953 after E.G. Rodman and W.D. Noel drilled the initial well, No. 1 Radford Grocery, about 2 miles south of this spot. Completed on January 13, 1953, the well had a natural flowing potential of 960 barrels in 24 hours from the Grayburg Formation at a total depth of 1744 feet. It was located 1980 feet from the south and west lines of section 1 of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Survey in Railroad Commission District 7C. The field later had a number of wells completed for natural potentials exceeding 3,000 barrels a day. Rodman and Noel were oil business veterans when they brought in this Upton County field: Rodman had become an independent producer in Texas in 1938, and Noel in 1940, after experience in various phases of petroleum development. Their interests later extended into international exploration and other phases of oil development, including manufacture of petrochemicals. Opening the field came 28 years after the great boom in McCamey and contributed substantially to Upton County's 1925-60 total production of 272,628,476 barrels.