Our History

1870 - First all woman jury.

July 1880 - Oil seeps reported in north end of field. Reported by Indians.

1889 - First drilling and discovery of oil in Shannon pool.

Oct. 21, 1908 - First well drilled in Midwest.  First well was #15 on SE 1/4 section 23-40-79.

1910 - First camp was Dutch Camp. Tar paper shacks & tents.

1910 - Stock Street was built.

1911 - First pipe line laid from field to Casper & oil put through it.

1912 - First school built, on Lewis Street, finished in September.  It had one room and 32 students.  Mrs. Helen Wallace              was the teacher.  The school got a piano.

1916 - Mrs. Ruth blake organized the first Red Cross in the area.  She also started the Episcopal Churchin Edgerton.                  The log building is still standing.

1918 - Wooden pipe line from Tisdale Mountain to Castle Rock tanks. 133,000 barrels flowed through it a day.
           First Church in Midwest.

1920 - Artesian well - cooled at the cooling pond & used for gardens & toilets.
           Midwest Refinery.
          Had soccer, golf, tennis court, football field, baseball, & Legion activities.

1921 - First water right from the Platte river.

1922 - Gas torch lit, 125' high & seen as far as 50 miles. It burned off poisonous gases.  The torch was put out in 1928,                at which time there had been three such torchs in the field.
            First welded pipeline in the world - each pipe was 40' long.
            Club house & Lodge.

Feb. 1923 - Town of Salt Creek built by Kittleson.

1923 - Mrs. Patterson (Carla Jensen's mother) had the first scout troop.
          The railroad was built through Salt Creek.  It was torn down in 1935.

Feb. 2, 1924 - Hospital & Nurses quarters built. Hospital insurance $1.00.

1924 - Electric Plant was built.
           First electrified oil field.

Nov.19, 1925 - First night lighted football game in the United States. Midwest vs. Casper, 0 -19.

1926 - Haydite plant built. Made from shale & cement. It was used to make corner stones for every derrick. It was made only in the Salt Creek field.
          The Town of Salt Creek was built.

1927 - Old Cookhouse moved from Fitzhugh Avenue to Ellison Avenue.
            Schools torn down - gym built.

1928 - Electricity was introduced into some Salt Creek homes.

1929 - Dick Brodrick - named the football team the Oilers.

Aug. 1930 - Part of Salt Creek burned down.

1937 - Hospital closed.

1937 - Stanolind oilfield office moved into hospital.

1940 - Oil field offices moved into the hospital building.

1940 - 1958 - Pan Am offices in old hospital, than moved to Casper.

1948 - Old cook house burned down.

1950 - Wilson building torn down, grade school.

1953 - Old grade school torn down.  New grade school was built.

1959 - Electric row was the last camp that moved to Midwest.

1959 - The Electric Plant was torn down (Frank Shepperson owns it).

1960 - Over six million people worked here. Residents purchased their homes from the Oil Co.
            High School was torn down.

1961 - Theater torn down.
           New School was built.

1963 - Old gym torn down - built in 1927.

1971 - Amoco.

1975 - Elwanda Burk - Justice of the Peace.

1975 - 1979 - Elwanda Burk - Mayor.

1978 - Midwest became incorporated.

1978 - Senior Citizens incorporated & moved into the old hospital

1979 - Pauline Schultz had the first Senior Citizens flag made in the United States.

1979 - John Griffin - Mayor.

1979 - 1982 - Jack Officer - Mayor.

1980 - Salt Creek Museum opened in the old Hospital.

1982 - 1984 - Twyla Eldridge - Mayor.

1984 - 1990 - Everett Chaffin - Mayor.

1990 - 1998 - John VanderVoort - Mayor.

1994 - Salt Creek Museum moved to the old Clinic.

1997 - Second water pipeline from Casper to Midwest was completed.

1998 - Howell Petroleum took over Amoco.

1998 - 1999 - Bud Dimick - Mayor.

1999 - 2002 Mary O'Connor - Mayor.

2002 - 2006 Guy Chapman - Mayor.

2002 - Anadarko acquired Howell Corporation. Located within the Salt Creek Field at a purchase price of $265,000,000.

Spring 2003 - Anadarko started the CO2 Pilot.

Jan. 2004 - Anadarko's first injection of CO2 in the full field development project.

May 2004 - First Oil Sales from CO2 Flood.

2006 - 2010 John VanderVoort - Mayor

2010 - 2012 & 2016 - 2022 Guy Chapman - Mayor

2022 - Tracy Sutherland - Mayor

TEAPOT DOME

1915 - Naval Reserve - 9,300 acres.

1922 - Government grants oil leases to private companies.

1927 - Teapot Dome Scandal results in field shut-in.

1976 - U.S. Navy resumes production.