Railroad Commission records, 1836-1867, 1873-1885, 1890-2006, bulk 1891-1996.

ArchivalResource

Railroad Commission of Texas. Railroad Commission records, 1836-1867, 1873-1885, 1890-2006, bulk 1891-1996.

Railroad Commission records, 1836-1867, 1873-1885, 1890-2006, bulk 1891-1996.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752580648

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) initially had jurisdiction over the rates and operations of railroads, terminals, wharves and express companies. Today the Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the exploration, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas and surface mining for coal, uranium, and iron ore gravel. Its statutory role is to prevent waste of the state's natural resources, to protect the correlative rights of different interest owners, to prevent pollution, and to provide safety in matters such as hydrogen sulfide. Records consist of minutes, correspondence, original orders, docket files, hearing files, reports, tariffs, oil and gas statistics, maps and plats, surveys, photographs, and other records. Dates covered are 1836-1867, 1873-1885, 1890-2006, the bulk dating 1891-1996. Files are present from most of the divisions of the Railroad Commission of Texas, including the old Main and Transportation Division, which eventually became the Rail Division; the Oil and Gas Division; and the Gas Services Division (formerly the Gas Utilities Division); the Surface Mining and Reclamation Division; as well as the Motor Transportation Division, now a part of the Texas Department of Transportation. Minutes are present for most of the agency's existence, detailing the regulatory and administrative actions of the commission. Annual reports of railroad companies and gas utility companies document the operations of these companies (railroads 1859-1867, 1873-1885, 1890-1996; gas utilities 1920-2001, 2004-2006) giving a good overview of the history of these types of operations and their oversight by the Railroad Commission. Correspondence, reports, and similar files, generally pre-1950, document rail and commercial motor vehicle regulation activities of the Commission and regulation of the oil and gas industry including early conservation efforts by the commission. Dockets, original orders, and hearing files show actions by Commissioners regarding changes in or establishment of rules and regulations, and such records, along with the minutes, reflect Commissioners' decisions in disputes or their approval or disapproval of requests for exceptions to various Railroad Commission regulations, such as the Rule 37 regulation, which governs the spacing between wells within an oil field. Correspondents include Commissioners and agency staff, railroad companies, oil and gas companies and operators, natural gas companies, commercial motor vehicle companies and operators, public utilities, businesses, state and federal officials and agencies, and the general public. Topics covered in these files include regulation and operation of railroads, including railroad companies' annual operations, rail company mergers, rail construction, and freight and passenger rates; oil and gas activities, including the issuance of orders governing drilling of oil and gas wells and the operation of the fields; oil and gas conservation and safety, including spacing of wells; disposal of oil and gas waste and pollution cleanup efforts; natural gas issues, include rate hearings, deregulation, and odorization of natural gas; reclamation of abandoned mine lands; and issuance of permits or certificates of convenience to operate commercial motor vehicles on public highways. Also present are the files of two early commissioners, Allison Mayfield (served 1897-1923) and Ernest O. Thompson (served 1933-1965). Mayfield's files consist of outgoing business and personal correspondence, including efforts to get reelected to the Commission in 1922. Thompson's files consist of correspondence, speeches, printed materials and other items which document his role as a Commission spokesman on oil and gas conservation. The records also include files, largely reports, from a joint federal-state committee, the Arkansas-White-Red River Basins Interagency Committee, formed to conduct water and resource development studies of the Arkansas, White, and Red River basins in the 1950s. The Railroad Commission?s scanned versions of the East Texas historical oil and gas hearing files are available online (http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/data/online/findingaid.php). The RRC plans to transfer the originals to the State Archives in the fall of 2011. This finding aid serves as an overview for the records of the Railroad Commission of Texas. Most series have their own detailed finding aids, partly due to the electronic file size limitations imposed by the online finding aid web site (TARO). A few series are unprocessed; most of these have a basic description of the records but no folder inventory.

1228.05 cubic ft. 398 microfilm reels89.15 cubic ft. 6microfilm reels119 microfiche

Texas State Library & Archives Commission