Where did this phrase come from? Perhaps the term ‘town’ is a misnomer, because the true claim to fame is what lies under the town - the mighty “Glenn Pool”.

In 1905, less than a half mile from the intersection of 141st and Highway 75, an exploratory oil well was dug, and on November 22 of that year, the Ida E Glenn #1 well ‘came in’, and the famous words “My God, Bob, we got an oil well!” was shouted.

This was the first of many wells drilled in the pool of oil that had been discovered. In honor of the lady on whose land the first well was drilled, the pool was named the Glenn Pool. During its years of most prolific production, the Glenn Pool Oil Field became the greatest in America, arguably the greatest in all the world. The production of oil from this field “ushered in a wild and wooly era that would build Tulsa into a city, create hundreds of oil and oil-related companies, serve as the cornerstone for the Oil Capital of the World, attract the big money and infrastructure necessary to make Oklahoma the number-one producing state in the nation, and provide the nucleus for gifts that continue to this day, including philanthropic trusts valued in the billions of dollars.” (quoted from the flyleaf of the book “Nearly Forgotten” by Doug Hicks). The rush of money and people that the discovery brought, is one of the major steps that brought Oklahoma to statehood in 1907. Another author, Kenny Franks said “The impact of Glenn Pool lived far beyond the heyday of the field. It was Glenn Pool that brought the pipelines to Oklahoma and opened new marketing outlets. It was Glenn Pool that caused the great influx of capital into Oklahoma that would make continued development of the industry possible. And it was Glenn Pool that focused the eyes of the nation on the petroleum industry in Oklahoma.” Even the state historical monument on Highway 75 says of the Glenn Pool “This began the great growth of the oil industry in the City of Tulsa and the State of Oklahoma.”

The phrase, “The town that made Tulsa Famous” was originally uttered not by a Glenpool person, but by a Tulsa Chamber of Commerce official at the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Ida Glenn well. This is not an idle boast but instead the honest accolade of a person from Tulsa who was well versed in the importance that the oil wealth meant to the entire area and the state.

There are a number of books available about the oil industry in Oklahoma, all who acknowledge the significance of the Glenn Pool, and several have been written solely about the Glenn Pool itself. There is also a DVD available which chronicles the story and it has been shown several times on OETA.

Are we proud of the slogan “The Town that made Tulsa Famous”? Yep, we are. We are also proud of the fact that it was  ranked among the top fifty slogans of U S Cities in a nationwide survey conducted in 2005. According to one hundred leading branding, marketing, and advertising professionals, Glenpool’s slogan ranked 47th out of a field of 1,200.  A complete listing of winning slogans and nicknames can be found at the web site of the “Tagline Guru” at www.taglineguru.com/citybrandingPR.html.