On January 2, 1944, the State of Alabama granted Hunt Oil Company a permit to drill the A.R. Jackson Well No. 1 near Gilbertown. Hunt Oil Company was owned by H.L. Hunt of Dallas, Texas. Drilling began on January 10, 1944, and was completed about one month later. The well struck oil at a depth of 2,580 feet in fractured Selma chalk. Its discovery led to the creation of the State Oil and Gas Board of Alabama in 1945 and to the development and growth of the petroleum industry in the state.