<Tr> <Td> Freeport </Td> <Td> 31st </Td> </Tr> <P> Cheap gasoline encouraged automobile ownership, which provided a substantial revenue source to the government, leading to the rapid expansion of highway development . Despite the state's geographical size and its rural nature at the turn of the century, the state's road systems developed to a level comparable with the more established industrial areas of the United States . </P> <P> The oil boom helped expansion of several Texas ports including four ports currently ranked as the top twenty busiest ports in the United States in terms of cargo tonnage . The Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston became the state's busiest shipping resources and one of the top two in the nation . Although Houston took the lead, the oil boom benefited other areas . The Sabine--Neches Waterway, located in the Beaumont / Port Arthur area, saw growth as a result of the oil boom . The existing ship channel was deepened following the 1901 Spindletop discovery and has been deepened several times since then . That waterway serves two of the United States's ports ranked in the top twenty in terms of cargo tonnage, the Port of Beaumont and the Port of Port Arthur . As of December 2013, The Sabine--Neches Waterway is the third - busiest waterway in the United States in terms of tons of cargo behind the Port of South Louisiana and the Houston Ship Channel . The Sabine--Neches Waterway is also the top bulk crude oil importer, the top bulk liquid waterway, and is projected to become the largest LNG exporter in the United States . Other beneficiaries included the Port of Corpus Christi and the Port of Texas City . As oil discoveries brought about refinery construction at various sites along the coast, the principle cargo for most ports from cotton to petroleum products . </P> <P> The university system in Texas improved dramatically because of the boom . Before the boom, the University of Texas consisted of a small number of crude buildings near Austin . Oil speculation on university land in western Texas led to the creation of the Santa Rita oil well, giving the University of Texas, and later Texas A&M University, access to a major source of revenue and leading the university to become among the wealthiest in the United States . Other universities in the state, especially the University of Houston, were also able to benefit from state - owned oil production and donations from wealthy oil investors, fueling substantial growth and development in their campuses . </P>

Oil production in the us marked the beginning of the