94th Annual Van Oil Festival

One of the most important events in Texas oil development and the history of Van occurred on October 14, 1929, when Pure Oil brought in the Jarman Discovery Well in Van.

Pure Oil Company was the first in the area to lease land for development. During WWII, the field produced enough crude oil to yield more than six million gallons of gasoline for the war effort.

The Van Field is still producing today, but at a much lesser extent.

The Oil Boom of 1929 brought as many changes to education as it did in the development of the town of Van.

Transition from a 5 room rural school to a complex worth several million dollars has not been easy, but our educators and local citizens have been up to the challenge

Community Development began with the Chamber of Commerce in December 1929 and a temporary form of City Government was organized.

Since the discovery of oil and the oil boom years, the community of Van has succeeded in establishing a town to be proud of…….Good schools, good Churches, and a good moral atmosphere.

In 1979, a monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, one of the members brought up the fact that all the other towns around us had festival and Van did not.  Thus, the Van Oil Festival was born. That first year at the festival, there was a car show, vendors, food booths, a street dance and the first ever Van Oil Pageant!

The pageant was held in the Van ISD auditorium and was open to Van High School students. The girls competed in casual wear, talent, evening gown and the interview questions. The 1979 pageant had eight contestants.Cindy Pool Humphrey was named the first Van Oil Queen.