Eighty-five years after then Oklahoma Governor Alfalfa Bill Murray took the drastic action of shutting down the State’s oilfields and 3,000 oil wells because of plummeting oil prices, the state faces another dramatic downturn in the oilpath. However, it might not be as serious as in the summer of 1931 when prices dropped to at least 18 cents a barrel.
But the current downturn has some returning to the history books and reminding themselves that the energy sector ebbs and flows in Oklahoma—nothing is constant for very long.
Back in the summer of 1931, Gov. Murray considered what steps he might take in resolving the issue that was caused by a glut of oil. How did the glut occur? First there was the strike of oil in Oklahoma City which turned into the largest and most productive oil field in the state. Prices started tumbling because of the massive production of oil. That was followed by a major oilfield find in Texas.
Governor Murray, who had been born in Toadsuck, Texas in 1869, knew something had to be done, but whatever action he took had to be legal and able to withstand any legal review of the courts. That’s when he considered the public schools and the State’s School Land commission where the state had oilwells. Staying up most of one night, he penned his solution and announced it, shutting down the state’s entire oil production and calling out the National Guard to enforce it. His move was upheld by the courts.
It wasn’t the only time Murray used the national guard. He declared martial law 30 and used the national guard on 47 occasions, including to take tickets at OU football games when he suspected wrongdoing.
Listen to Michael Dean’s report from the State History Center.