DeGolyer House
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Greensboro, Kansas, Everette Lee DeGolyer (1886-1956) participated in major oil exploration successes in Mexico while still a student at the University of Oklahoma. Returning to complete his degree, he married Nell Virginia Goodrich (1886-1972) of Norman, Oklahoma. DeGolyer became a world renowned petroleum geologist and rare book collector. In 1936 Everette and Nell DeGolyer and their four children moved to Dallas. They hired California architects Denman Scott and Burton Schutt to design their new home overlooking White Rock Lake. Exhibiting outstanding features of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the house was begun in 1938 and completed in 1940. Noted landscape architect Arthur Berger planned the grounds of the estate to complement its natural surroundings. An important addition to Texas' architectural history, the rambling one-story house is evocative of a Mexican hacienda and noted for its picturesque massing and fine craftsmanship. Following the DeGolyers' deaths, the DeGolyer Foundation donated the house, grounds, and library to Southern Methodist University. The library was retained by the university, and the house and grounds were purchased by the City of Dallas in 1975. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1992
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Everette Lee DeGolyer struck oil in Mexico while still a college student and went on to become one of the world's foremost petroleum geologists and a celebrated rare-book collector. In 1936 he and his wife Nell moved to Dallas and built this rambling Spanish Colonial Revival home above White Rock Lake, evocative of a Mexican hacienda and finished with fine craftsmanship. After the couple's deaths the estate passed to Southern Methodist University and the City of Dallas.
Why it matters
DeGolyer helped turn oil prospecting from guesswork into a science, and his home reflects the wealth and cultural ambition that petroleum brought to 20th-century Texas.
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Related people
- · Everette Lee DeGolyer
- · Nell Virginia Goodrich DeGolyer
Themes & tags
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