First Texas City Refinery, The
Texas City, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first oil refinery built in texas City was established in 1908 by the Texas City Refining Company. Contractor J. C. Black and more than 100 craftsmen constructed the refinery. Processing equipment included eleven stills, storage tanks, and a boiler house. Railroad tank cars delivered crude oil for processing. The finished product was shipped by rail or carried by pipeline to the Texas City docks for loading on seagoing tankers. Through the years more land was purchased, extra storage tanks were built, and facilities were modernized as technology advanced. Petroleum products made during both world wars provided significant contributions to the nation's defense. World War II production demands caused Texas City's population to nearly triple. Despite economic shifts, natural disasters and accidents, oil industry fluctuations, and multiple owners, this refinery has been an integral part of the area for over eight decades, providing employment for hundreds of employees, and infusing millions of dollars into local, regional, and national economies. Now an upgraded, modern facility, the refinery's capacity for processing crude oil has grown from 1,500 barrels per day in 1908 to 130,000 barrels per day in the 1990s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Texas City's first oil refinery opened in 1908, built by the Texas City Refining Company with contractor J. C. Black and more than a hundred craftsmen who assembled its eleven stills, tanks, and boiler house. Crude arrived by rail and finished products left by pipeline for tankers at the Texas City docks, and the plant's output fed the nation's defense through both world wars — wartime demand nearly tripled the city's population. Repeatedly rebuilt and modernized, the refinery grew from 1,500 barrels a day in 1908 to 130,000 by the 1990s.
Why it matters
This refinery marks the birth of the petrochemical industry along the Texas Gulf Coast, a sector that powered American growth and wartime might through the 20th century.
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Related people
- · J. C. Black
Themes & tags
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