In 1909, the boll weevil moved into the county, destroying the cotton economy. The first commercial production of oil came from the efforts of Jack Pippen at Brownwood in 1917. The first large field began producing from a depth of in 1919 near Cross Cut. In 1926, an oil boom followed the success of the White well on Jim Ned Creek; some 600 wells were drilled in several fields in the county during this time. By 1991, more than of oil had been taken from Brown County lands since 1917.