Saginaw Oil Industry

“Oil men optimistic as first well shot, shows results,” reported the August 29, 1925, edition of the Saginaw News . Michigan’s first oil field had been discovered the previous week at this site, known as Deindorfer Woods. The Saginaw Prospecting Company drilled well “Number One” and discovered oil at a depth of 1,873 feet. The well, initially yielded twenty-three barrels of crude oil per day. The discovery immediately drew the attention of the Standard Oil and the Sun Oil Companies who sent scouts to Saginaw. By the turn of the twenty-first century, Michigan oil and gas exploration and production expanded to sixty-three counties and produced one-fifth of the petroleum energy the state consumed.