The occurrence of sulphur in the vicinity of Rustler Springs in northeastern Culberson County, Texas, has been known since 1854 when, according to Phillips (1902, pp. 13, 71), the mineral was recognized by William P. Blake, a geologist attached to a U.S. War Department expedition making a survey of a railroad route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. In the latter part of the 19th century and first part of the 20th century the Rustler Springs district was regarded as a favorable potential source for domestic supplies of native sulphur.