Stories about the Texas oil boom often focus on the independent wildcatter—the legendary prospectors who risked everything in search of black gold. But how did sudden personal wealth change their lives and the lives of their families?
Fictional oil families, from the Ewings of Dallas (1978-1991) to the Plainviews of There Will Be Blood (2007), provide dramatized representations. The following home movie collections, on the other hand, offer an intimate glimpse into the lifestyles of real oil moneyed Texans and the multigenerational social power such wealth afforded.