Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum

Steve’s take

In 1901, a geyser of oil shot 150 feet in the air right here and launched the modern petroleum industry. The museum is a recreated boomtown where your kids can see what Texas looked like when it struck oil and went completely insane. For a state that defines itself by oil, football, and BBQ, this is where one-third of that identity started. Fifteen minutes off I-10 and cheap to get in.