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William Ivy Cook (1857-1923) and his wife Matilda moved to this county in 1985. With a brother-in-law, J. H. Nail, Cook purchased a 27.75-section ranch. The Cooks bought out Nail in 1898, and have owned the ranch ever since. During the 1918 Breckenridge and Ranger booms, Cook sold leases but prophesied he could drink from his hat all of the oil under his land. In 1925 his widow leased all open acreage to Charles Roeser, Tol Pendleton, and Marshall R. Yount, of Roeser & Pendleton, Inc. This firm's second well in 1926 struck oil at 1241 feet and flowed at 1000 barrels a day. This prolific flow of oil at such a shallow depth has been one of Cook Ranch field's remarkable features. Commercial low pressure gas injection was started on the ranch in 1927 and helped elevate recovery standards internationally. With the oil wealth, Mrs. Cook founded the W. I. Cook Memorial Hospital in Fort Worth in 1929. Cook field enriched Albany and its trade area by expanding petroleum-related business activities. Of the 1087 wells drilled on the ranch, 825 yielded oil and four gas. Production has now exceeded thirty million barrels. Marshall R. Young remains owner of the oil firm. (1976) |
