Edwin Butcher “E.B.” Hopkins (1882-1940) was a Dallas-based petroleum geologist and engineer whose consulting credentials included the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company, the Petroleum Finance Corporation of Texas, the Drilling and Exploration Company, the Highland Oil Company, and the American Maracaibo Company. A prominent member of the local community, he also served as a trustee of the Dallas Art Museum, the …
Frank Yount
Miles Franklin “Frank” Yount (1880-1933) moved to Texas at age 15 to work in the oil fields. He formed what became the Yount-Lee Oil Company in 1913, securing mineral rights near Spindletop. While many believed the field dry after years of overproduction, Yount looked for deposits at deeper depths on the flanks of the dome. His McFaddin No. 3 well …
W.P.H. McFaddin
William Perry Herring “W.P.H.” McFaddin (1856-1935) was a prominent cattle rancher and businessman. Under his leadership, the McFaddin Ranches of Beaumont grew to encompass some 120,000 acres in Jefferson County and 48,000 acres in Knox and King counties. McFaddin also established companies in commercial real estate, rice farming and milling, canals and irrigation, and cattle feeding and meatpacking. The expansive …
Ross Sterling
Ross Shaw Sterling (1875-1949) purchased two oil wells in 1910, chartering the Humble Oil and Refining Company the following year. He served as president until 1925, when he sold his interests to pursue Houston real estate development. He subsequently bought two local newspapers to form the Houston Post-Dispatch. In addition to its growing newspaper circulation, the company also operated KPRC …
A.M. Harper
Albert Morris “A.M.” Harper (1901-1997) owned and operated a successful oil field trucking company in Alice. Financial success following the Texas oil boom enabled him, wife Lucille, and the couple’s three children to enjoy a recreational home in Port Aransas. Harper’s home movies document hunting and fishing expeditions around the globe as well as offshore operations in the Gulf of …