Louisiana Oil and Gas Park

On September 21, 1901, drillers near Jennings brought in Louisiana's first oil well — 7,000 barrels a day. The discovery launched the state's petroleum industry and transformed the Southwest Louisiana economy. Before that strike, this was timber-and-trapping country. After, it was oil country. Jennings calls itself the Cradle of Louisiana Oil, and this park marks the spot. Exhibits cover the early drilling technology and the history of the discovery. The park also houses the Gator Chateau, a baby alligator rescue and rehabilitation facility that releases animals back into the wild. The site sits in Jennings, thirty-five miles east of Lake Charles on I-10. It's a short stop, but it's the place where Louisiana's petroleum story began — the moment the ground gave up what would remake the region.