The Mexia Oil Boom Traditional Cache

An iconic Mexia structure you can't miss as you are coming into town from the northwest.

You will be looking for a hide-a-key container.  Wear shoes and watch for critters!

From the Texas State Historical Association website:

In 1912 the Mexia Gas and Oil Company drilled ten dry holes, but in the eleventh attempt discovered a large natural gas deposit. The Mexia oilfield was discovered in 1920, and the population of Mexia increased from 3,482 to nearly 35,000. The rapid growth was too great for local authorities to handle, and for a short time in 1922 Mexia was under martial law. That year proved to be the peak production year for the Mexia field, with 35 million barrels produced. Cumulative production of the field totaled 108 million barrels by the mid-1980s. In 1924 Mexia residents passed a new city charter that changed the local government to a city manager system. After the initial oil boom, the population of Mexia declined to 10,000 by the mid-1920s. The prosperity generated by the boom, however, continued until the 1930s, when the Great Depression forced many people to leave in search of work. The number of residents in the town stabilized at 6,500 in the early 1930s, but the number of businesses reported fell from 280 to 190.