Edgar B. Davis, Oil Pioneer-Philanthropist
Luling, Caldwell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Feb. 2, 1872 - Oct. 14, 1951) One of the great benefactors of Texas. Born in Brockton, Mass. Had business careers in shoe manufacture and rubber planting. On retirement, came here and in wildcat operation brought in Luling Oil Field, 1922. By 1926 had 215 producing wells. Gave employees $2,500,000 in bonuses, then endowed Luling Foundation, for advancement of agriculture and human opportunity in area. Result has been conservation of land, upbreeding of crops and livestock and introduction and marketing of superior products. Davis remained in this area and is buried near Luling.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edgar B. Davis came to Luling after careers in Massachusetts shoe manufacturing and overseas rubber planting, and in 1922 his wildcat gamble brought in the Luling Oil Field — 215 producing wells by 1926. Rather than simply pocketing the fortune, he handed his employees $2,500,000 in bonuses and endowed the Luling Foundation to advance agriculture and opportunity in the area. Its work in soil conservation and crop and livestock improvement carried his vision forward, and he remained in the community until his death.
Why it matters
Davis embodied the oil-boom philanthropist who turned sudden wealth into lasting investment in his adopted Texas community.
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Related people
- · Edgar B. Davis
Related events
- · Discovery of the Luling Oil Field
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
City of Luling
Luling, TX
Luling sprang up in 1874 where the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad crossed a main wagon road, drawing in whole communities and a relocated post office and chartering as a city that September. As the railroad's terminus into 1875 it boomed with shipping, drifters, and a reputation as a tough town before churches and schools settled it down. A 1922 oil strike opened a new chapter, with scores of producing wells drilled inside the city limits.
The Fritz Zedler Home
Luling, TX
Born in Germany in 1840, Fritz Zedler came to Texas as a boy and, after moving to Luling in 1884, built up the thriving enterprise known as Zedler's Mill. In 1900 he raised this ten-room, four-porch house from his own plans, a monument to his prosperity. It stayed in the family until 1964 and was later bought and carefully restored, earning recognition as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
Zedler's Mills
Luling, TX
In 1874 John and James Merriwether and Leonidas Hardeman raised a gristmill and sawmill on this spot, damming the San Marcos River with stone to harness its power. New owners operating as the Luling Water Power Company added a cotton gin in 1884, and by 1888 milling veteran Fritz Zedler had bought out the stock and brought his sons into the family firm. For decades the Zedlers not only ground grain but supplied the town of Luling with water and, later, electric power, until operations wound down around 1960.
Rafael Rios No. 1
Stairtown, TX
On August 10, 1922, wildcatter E.B. Davis brought in this discovery well on land owned by R. Rios after three earlier dry holes, opening the major Luling oil field. Magnolia Oil (later Mobil) bought the field in 1926, and by 1969 it had yielded some 135 million barrels. The strike helped transform a stretch of Central Texas farmland into an oil district.