All books using the keywords: David Paul Davenport

Coalinga, California, began in 1889 as a supply center for a coal mine and became a boom town when oil was discovered nearby in 1896. Seemingly overnight the oil district attracted wildcatters who explored and proved the field making it by 1910 the largest producing oil field in California. As the supply center for this district Coalinga's population soared from a couple of hundred in 1900 to over 6,000 in 1910 making it the second largest city in Fresno County. | One consequence of this explosive growth was the desire of some residents to separate those who worked in the oil fields from their hard-earned money, so Coalinga attracted liquor dealers, gamblers, and fallen women. Those who ...