On this date in 1943,the Humble Oil Company (now Exxon-Mobil) made an official announcement that it had discoved oil at Sunniland in Collier County -- it would be the first operating oil well in Florida. The well site was about 12-miles south of Immokalee, near the Big Cypress Preserve.

Today there are 70 operating oil wells in the state, producing approximately 8,000 barrels of crude oil per day.