Humble began as a crossroads community named for settler Pleasant Smith Humble (1835?-1912), who lived here before 1889, hewing timber into railroad ties, mining gravel from his land, keeping store, and serving as justice of the peace. Neighbors included the Bender, Durdin, Isaacks, Lee, Slaughter, and Williams families, and farms and sawmills formed the economic base. The post office opened in 1902. In 1904 C. E. Barrett (1866-1926) drilled for oil in the area and secured small production on Moonshine Hill. On Jan. 7, 1905, he brought in the No. 2 Beaty Well, which yielded 8,500 barrels a day and opened the great boom. From a village of 700, Humble quickly grew into a town of 20,000. In 1905 the field, named for the town, was the largest producer in Texas, with 15,594,923 barrels of oil. In 1911 a group of operators, including Ross S. Sterling, later governor of Texas from 1931 to 1933, incorporated a new oil company named for the field, carrying the town's name into world commerce. By 1946 production from several strata here exceeded the total for Spindletop, and Humble remained known as the greatest salt dome field while still producing as the town continued to thrive.