More time for a better answer now. I'm using Access to break up the large table in to 55 more manageable bites. When I create the wellspots in Arcview, I don't have to load the entire state's wells at one time. That slows down the refreshes when I move the map even a little bit. When I'm working on one county's worth, I don't need the other counties wells loaded.
It also helps debug. I had some wells show up in South America. Narrowing down the table that it's in is easier using only one county at a time.