Abstract "The First Oil Well in Texas and the Southwest" gives an account of the drilling at Oil Springs by Lyne Taliaferro Barret in 1866. The paper includes a description of the drilling techniques and tells of negotiations for financial backing."Peter Ellis Bean--Man with a Story" is a biographical sketch of Bean."The History of Melrose" gives family histories of the Hardeman, Mast, Walling, Hall, and other families residing there. Accounts of businesses, schools and...