History of the Houston Geological Society

Houston's geologists have seen the petroleum industry's progress almost from its infancy and have contributed in a large way to that progress. The first commercial geologic department in the United States devoted to the winning of oil from the earth was founded in Houston in 1897 for the Southern Pacific by the great pioneer geologist Dr. Edwin T. Dumble. With the discovery of Spindletop near Beaumont on January 10, 1901, the Texas oil boom started in earnest and the stage was set for the geologists of Houston.

The early geologists met for lunch and in January 1920 they organized into a special group. This organization was short lived and in the summer of 1923, at the invitation of Donald C. Barton of the Rycade Oil Corporation, Houston geologists began meeting for lunch on the first Friday of each month. Alexander Deussen and Wallace E. Pratt, each a past president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, suggested that Houston host the ninth annual meeting of AAPG in 1924. At the August 1923 monthly meeting, this matter was discussed and it was a unanimous decision to extend the invitation. A viable professional organization was necessary to prepare for this meeting and as a result, the Houston Geological Society was formally chartered on August 8, 1923, with John R. Suman as president and David Donoghue as secretary-treasurer. At this time there were 74 geologists in and near Houston and all were elected charter members of the Society. On April 15, 1975, the Society was incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas with 2,217 active and honorary members. Membership today is near 4,300 members.

The objectives of the Houston Geological Society are:

• (1) to stimulate interest and promote advancement in geology for the Houston area;
• (2) to disseminate and facilitate discussion of geological information relationships among geologists in the area; and
• (3) to aid and encourage encourage academic training in the science of geology. The Society strives to achieve these goals through regularly scheduled technical meetings, publication of a monthly Bulletin, a continuing education program, field trips, the publication of timely books, and two student scholarship funds.

The official insignia of the Society was adopted in 1949. At Phil Martyn's insistence, an emblem contest was started to provide the Society with an official insignia. On January 29, 1949, the late Walter J. Osterhoudt was named the winner of the contest. The HGS emblem is best described in his own words. "The oil derrick stands for success to members of the Society. The derrick is firmly established upon the Gulf Coast plain overlooking Galveston Bay, through which passes much of the oil to the markets of the world. Beyond Galveston Bay is the Gulf of Mexico, a new province, which challenges geologists and geophysicists to almost unlimited new reserves. Under the oil derrick is a cross section of a typical Gulf Coast salt dome. The words 'Houston Geological Society' are arranged upon a circle which is symbolical of the world, because our geologists come from and travel to all places on the earth in search of oil and other minerals. The five points of the design are a pleasant reminder that we, the members of the Society, are privileged to live in Texas. The 1923 is the year in which the Society was organized."

Through its publication efforts, the Society has rendered a service to its members, the geological profession, and occasionally to the entire community with books of general interest. The publication, "Houston Area Environmental Geology: Surface Faulting, Ground Subsidence, Hazard Liability," is a significant contribution to both the geological and lay communities. Four important volumes on the geology of deltas, that favored habitat for petroleum accumulation, have been published. Two of these, "Deltas-Models for Exploration" and "Deltas in Their Geologic Framework" have been reprinted due to demand. The eleventh edition of "Directory of Oil Company Name Changes" was printed in 1997. Two recent publications, Exploration and Exploitation of Coastal Salt Basin Diapiric Structures in the Lower Pliocene through Eocene Trends: Geology and Techniques", a joint effort with the New Orleans Geological Society, and "Productive Low Resistivity Well Logs of the Offshore Gulf of Mexico" are valuable additions to the geological literature.

The Society encourages and aids students through the Memorial Scholarship Fund for graduate students, and the Undergraduate Scholarship Fund for undergraduates. The Society also gives outstanding geology Student Awards to Stephen F. Austin University, Lamar University, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, the University of Houston, and Sam Houston State University; and promotes participation in the Houston Engineering and Science Fair.

The Houston Geological Society has been affiliated with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists since 1932. Several Houston geologists helped to organize AAPG and many members have served as officers, have held important committee assignments, and have been honored with significant awards. Many of the presidents of AAPG were HGS members. The national AAPG convention has been held in Houston nine times, the last being March 1995.

The Houston Geological Society has been actively involved in the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies since its inception in 1951. Houston has hosted five annual GCAGS conventions with the next one scheduled for October 2000.