Oil and the Caddo: How Petroleum Changed Northwest Louisiana

In 1906, drillers struck oil in the Caddo-Pine Island field northwest of Shreveport — one of the first major oil discoveries in Louisiana. Within a decade, the region was producing millions of barrels. Standard Oil, Gulf, and a wave of wildcatters transformed Shreveport from a cotton trading town into an oil capital. The money built the downtown commercial district, funded the Strand Theatre and the Municipal Auditorium, and attracted workers from across the South. The Louisiana State Oil & Gas Museum documents this transformation. When natural gas replaced oil as the primary extraction, Shreveport adapted again.