The Texas and Pacific Coal Company struck oil at 1,000 feet about 10 miles east of Ranger in 1915, raising the hopes of ranchers, farmers, and businessmen struggling through an economic slump caused by severe drought and boll weevil-ravaged cotton fields, but those expectations rose and then fell when later test drillings found dry holes. Desperate local leaders turned to Texas and Pacific Coal Company general manager William Knox Gordon in nearby Thurber, and although some geologists had concluded otherwise, Gordon believed oil lay much deeper than previous drilling had reached. He agreed to drill to 3,500 feet, and on July 2, 1917, contractor Warren Wagner began drilling on J. H. McCleskey’s farm. On October 17, 1917, at a depth of 3,432 feet, McCleskey Well No. 1 hit pay sand and came in with an estimated daily flow of 1,600 barrels of oil. The well was plugged on May 18, 1920. McCleskey Well No. 1 set off the Ranger oil boom, bringing Ranger international fame as the town whose oil helped erase critical shortages during World War I and allowed the Allies to float to victory on a wave of oil.