Alamitos Oil Well No. 1
In 1917, Union Oil Company had drilled near the area of Signal Hill and found no oil. Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company drilled Alamitos Well #1 and found the gusher. Alamitos Well #1 found one of the richest oil fields in the world. The Long Beach oilfield produced over 1 billion barrels of oil by 1984. The Long Beach oilfield is still in use and producing oil. In 2002 the oilfield pumped out 1.5 million barrels of oil.
Marker
A California Historic Landmark marker is at the northeast corner of Temple Avenue and Hill Street in Signal Hill. The marker on the site reads:
NO. 580 WELL, ALAMITOS 1 – One of the world's most famous wells. Started on March 23,1921, it flowed 590 barrels of oil a day when it was completed June 25, 1921, at a depth of 3,114 feet. This discovery well led to the development of one of the most productive oil fields in the world and helped to establish California as a major oil producing state.