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Luling, "the crossroads to everywhere", is located along the San Marcos River. Luling, Texas, is found between San Antonio and Houston on Interstate 10. The town was first settled in 1873, than experienced its first boom when it became the main rails for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1874. However, it wasn't until 1884 that Luling was built.
According to the official Handbook of Texas, Luling was a cattle
center, shipping point, and end of a freight road to Chihuahua, Mexico,
along the Chisholm Trail. It was called the "toughest town in Texas". "It
was said that some noted outlaws, Sam Bass, Wesley Hardin, the Youngers,
King Fisher, and some equally noted sheriffs and rangers, R. Bean, Ben Thompson,
and Wild Bill Hikock were visitors." John and James Merriwether and Leonidas
Hardeman built a gristmill and sawmill on the San Marcos River to serve
the new town of Luling. Later operated by Fritz Zedler, it was the source
of electric power and water, as well as, a cotton gin for the area until
1960.
After the railroad boom, Luling settled down to a normal progress
until Edgar B. Davis discovered oil in 1922. That discovery turned into
a huge boom that resulted in the development of one of Texas' most important
oil fields. Cotton ruled the local economy until August 9th of that year,
Edgar B. Davis' Rafael Rios No. 1 blew in, opening an oilfield 12 miles
long and two miles wide. Thousands of oilfield workers came to live in Luling,
and constructed a tent city along the railroad tracks. The field was producing
11 million barrels of oil per year by 1924. With this, Luling had the reputation
of being a rough town in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Then,
you could see construction workers, cowboys, and cattle drivers in the bars
and dance halls nearby. Today, Luling represents a blending of several different
cultures in today's modern world, with a population of 4,660. The downtown
saloons and bars have been substituted with the country-like antique and
glass stores, local restaurants, and shops. Oil, farming, and livestock
continue to be major activities in the Luling area.
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The naming of Luling has always been a topic of discussion. One story has it that a Chinese laundry man, named LingLu or LuLing, came with the construction gang and set up shop to launder the fine linen shirts of the local gentlemen. One thing is for sure, the railroad played a part in the naming of the town. Others say the town was named for the wife of J.H. Pierce, former president of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroads. No doubt, her maiden name was Luling.