Oil derricks sprang up in Kern County after the discovery of the Midway Gusher in 1909. Under the title is the notation that the location is on the "San Joaquin Valley Line, Southern Pacific Rail Road." On the divided back is the following after the title: "Petroleum now ranks in value as the first mineral produce in the state, and the state is the first in the Union in the bulk of its oil product. California wanted cheap fuel, and crude oil fills the want. It is used everywhere--in factories, in mines, in hotels, apartment houses and buildings."
