WHERE A SINGLE 1921 GUSHER HELPED MAKE CALIFORNIA A TOP OIL STATE
Signal Hill
2
companies
$500K
total raised
Industrials
top industries
The breakdown
2 startups on file in Signal Hill, spanning Industrials, 1 of 2 have disclosed funding, $500K combined.
- Oilstainlab — Industrials, Seed.
- Stain Corp — Industrials, $500K raised, founded 2024.
A bit of history
Shell Oil's Alamitos No. 1 well struck oil on June 23, 1921, at about 2,765 feet down, with gas pressure so strong it sent a geyser of oil 114 feet into the air and collapsed the drilling rig. The discovery kicked off one of the most productive oil fields in the world: by 1923, more than 270 wells run by 37 companies were pulling over 140,000 barrels a day from the hill, and the Signal Hill field is credited with helping California produce roughly a quarter of the world's oil at the time. The rapid drilling activity earned the town the nickname "Porcupine Hill" before it later took its current name.
Sources: Alamitos oil well, Signal Hill, California
