Joseph Stephen Cullinan (December 31, 1860–March 11, 1937) was a U.S. oil

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 industrialist. Although he was a native of Pennsylvania, his lifetime business endeavors would help shape the early oil industry of Texas. He founded The Texas Company, which would eventually be known as Texaco Incorporated

Texaco

Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....

.

Early life

He was born unto John Francis and Mary (Considine) Cullinan on December 31, 1860 in Pulaski Twp, Lawrnce County, Pennsylvania, not far from Sharon, Pennsylvania

Sharon, Pennsylvania

Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

. His first experience in the oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 industry was when he was fourteen, working as a hand in the Pennsylvania oilfields. He was responsible for various oil related duties including an oil distribution station in Oleopolis, Pennsylvania. This familiarity with all the aspects of the industry would later on be beneficial for his wisdom and sound judgment in the oil business. On April 14, 1891, he married Lucy Halm. Together, they would later have 5 children. When he was 22, he began to work for an affiliate of Standard Oil

Standard Oil

Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...

 and for the next thirteen years, he performed various managerial duties. In 1895, he decided to venture into the business of manufacturing steel storage tanks and started his own company under the name Petroleum Iron Works located in New Castle, Pennsylvania

New Castle, Pennsylvania

New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...

.

Move to Texas

The previous year, oil was discovered in Corsicana, Texas

Corsicana, Texas

Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...

 by accident when a water-well company encountered the resource while attempting to establish a water source for the city. By 1897, the production was so great that this prompted the mayor of the town to invite Cullinan to advise on the development of the oil production facilities there. The lack of refining facilities often resulted in the dumping of the crude oil. The wasteful and polluting practices of some irresponsible prospectors prompted Texas legislators to enforce regulations on the industry. Cullinan (who was also against this wasteful practice and was a key person in the development of the state's first petroleum-conservation statute) took such an interest in the potential of refining there that he agreed to build a refinery. Using out of state funds for backing, the J. S. Cullinan Company was established which would have a facility online by 1900, processing 1500 oilbbl/d. His refinery there was the first of its type west of the Mississippi

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. This company later became part of the Magnolia Petroleum Company

Magnolia Petroleum Company

The Magnolia Petroleum Company was an early twentieth century petroleum company in Texas and was founded on April 24, 1911 as a consolidation of several earlier companies. Standard Oil of New York exchanged its stock for all of the Magnolia stock in December 1925 though it continued to operate as...

.

Operations on the Texas Gulf Coast

With the breakthrough discovery of the Spindletop

Spindletop

Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...

 oilfield at Beaumont

Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...

, Cullinan moved his operations to the Beaumont region to partner with Arnold Schlaet. The Texas Fuel Company was formed on March 28, 1901 and went into production on January 2, 1902 with an initial 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of land at Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Texas

-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...

 and a storage site 1½ miles from Spindletop. The primary product of this company was kerosene

Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

. Due to Texas law, since integrated oil companies were prohibited, Cullinan organized the Producers Oil Company on January 17, 1902. One of the prominent investors in this new company was John Warne Gates

John Warne Gates

John Warne Gates , also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates, was a pioneer promoter of barbed wire who became a Gilded Age industrialist.-Biography:...

, a businessman and industrialist from Illinois. The Producers Oil Company at this time explored for and supplied the oil. Within two months, The Texas Company (which took over the assets of the Texas Fuel Company) was formed for the transporting and refining of the crude. From 1902 to 1913, Cullinan served as president of the company. In 1905, he began to move the headquarters of the company from Beaumont to Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 and completing this move by 1908. This relocation established Houston as the center of the oil operations of the Southwest as other oil companies later followed this precedent. Many years later, The Texas Company changed its corporate name to Texaco Incorporated in 1959. After leaving his position of president of the company, Cullinan continued to serve in the oil industry. He established other exploration companies and refineries, with most of the activity in the East Texas region along the Gulf Coast.

Other activities and later life

Joseph S. Cullinan had a profound impact upon the city of Houston. In addition to being one of the key supporters for the development of the Houston Ship Channel

Houston Ship Channel

The Houston Ship Channel, located in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston—one of the United States's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between the Houston-area shipyards and the Gulf of Mexico.-Overview:...

, he also built the North Side belt railway. He supported venues such as the Houston Symphony Orchestra

Houston Symphony Orchestra

The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....

 as well as the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston)

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston , located in Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with more than 62,000 works from six continents....

. He served as president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce from 1913 until 1919. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he served under Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

 as a special advisor to the Food Administration. For five years starting in 1928 he served on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Committee. On March 11, 1937, Cullinan died during his visitation with Hoover in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

 where he was overcome with pneumonia. Afterward his interest in TEXACO

Texaco

Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....

was split six ways between his sister Mary Nicholson and his children.

External links

• Historical Marker information provided by Rootsweb.com
• Joseph S. Cullinan, Harvard Business School – 20th Century Great American Business Leaders.
• “Find A Grave” website entry for J. S. Cullinan