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Slideshow: Pump Jack Art Celebrates Luling's Oil History

Luling, which once gushed with oil and was known as the “toughest town in Texas,” has found a unique way to celebrate its heritage: decorating its aging — but still working — pump jacks with vibrant colors and characters.

by Todd Wiseman

A few feet away from the train tracks that split Luling, a pump jack showcases a cow jumping over the moon.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
In the First Baptist Church parking lot, a few feet away from a rusty basketball hoop that looks just as old as the well, a …
Credit: Todd Wiseman
As Dairy Queen customers inch through the drive-through line, they can gaze upon the "DQ Dude," who is branded with the comp…
Credit: Todd Wiseman
Near a Chevron station, the vibrant colors of this installation — "Girl Picking Flowers" — clash with the rusty pump jack it…
Credit: Todd Wiseman
This butterfly, which gently flaps its wings when the pump is turned on, is one of Luling's older pump jack installations.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
In a grocery store parking lot, these swimming ducks bob up and down with the pump jack.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
This pump jack, which operates near ELGI Rubber Company on U.S. 183, features a killer whale.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
Most of the 183 pump jacks scattered throughout Luling are unadorned, such as this one in the middle a shared yard.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
When this pump is switched on, it sends Santa Claus' sleigh moving up and down. It sits in the side parking lot of a Dollar …
Credit: Todd Wiseman
This surf board-toting flamingo in a car sits atop a pump in the American National Bank parking lot.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
A shark chomps at a fish in the Dollar General parking lot. This is one of several art installations in Luling created by Ge…
Credit: Todd Wiseman
A piece called "Seesaw Kids" sits in the grass near a pump jack near ELGI Rubber Company. When a well or the art needs repai…
Credit: Todd Wiseman
In Blanche Square of off U.S. 183, an eagle bobs up and down with the pump jack.
Credit: Todd Wiseman
A pump jack tiger faces U.S. 183 off of Lamar Street.
Credit: Todd Wiseman

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