Farmington Museum Opens New Exhibition: Built By Gas. 11/26/2021 [Video]

100 Years ago, San Juan County went from growing apples to producing commercial natural gas. Built by Gas, Farmington Museum’s newest exhibition, celebrates the birth of an energy industry and how it changed a small farming community into a national energy resource center. You’re watching the Local NEWS Network, brought to you by Traeger’s and Three Rivers Brewery. I’m Hannah Robertson. In October, 1921, a gas well drilled one mile south of Aztec blew with such force that it could be heard 10 miles away. And just like that, a boomtown was born in the San Juan Basin. In 1951, a transmission pipeline was built to California, launching a second boom. Farmington’s population grew from 3,500 to 24,000 by 1960. There was plenty of work, but housing options were few.

It was a gold rush. I mean, everybody was trying to get in on the action. You know, we know …