The well was on the land of Jackson Barnett, a Creek landowner who subsequently became known as the "world's richest Indian".

[2] Barnett owned 160 acres (65 ha) in trust Creek County, which began producing oil in 1912.

Until 1920, his fortune was managed as a trust by Creek County courts and the Department of the Interior, on the pretext that Jackson was illiterate and legally incompetent due to a head injury.

[3] Barnett's money became the subject of extensive litigation and eventual Congressional hearings.

When a court gave part of the trust's money to Anna to administer, the couple moved to Los Angeles and bought a mansion.