General Ernest O. Thompson
Amarillo, Potter County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Acknowledged world leader in petroleum conservation. A third generation Texan. Left college for World War I, earning battlefield promotion to Lieutenant Colonel--youngest in the U.S. Army. In 1930 gained national recognition as crusading Amarillo mayor. Appointed in 1932 to Railroad Commission of Texas, won successive elective terms, chairman many years. Began Commission duty by enforcing proration in East Texas during world's greatest oil boom. Backed by Texas Rangers, closed off non-complying wells. His previous experience was in law practice, hotel ownership; quickly learned oil and gas engineering principles, along with regulation and conservation. In 1934, under advice of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, led in founding Interstate Oil Compact Commission. Represented the U.S. at World Petroleum Congress in Paris in 1937. Went into Army in World War II, but returned to Texas on presidential order to insure oil supplies for Allied military forces. In 1951 was awarded American Petroleum Institute Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement. An international authority on oil--key to world trade--he had great economic influence.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ernest O. Thompson left college for World War I and earned a battlefield promotion to lieutenant colonel—said to be the youngest in the U.S. Army—before making his name as a reforming Amarillo mayor. Appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission in 1932, he enforced oil proration during the great East Texas boom, backed by the Texas Rangers, and became a world authority on petroleum conservation, helping found the Interstate Oil Compact Commission. His work made Texas a decisive voice in the global oil trade.
Why it matters
Thompson helped invent modern oil regulation, a system that stabilized the American petroleum industry and gave the United States enormous economic leverage in the 20th century.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Ernest O. Thompson
- · Franklin D. Roosevelt
Related events
- · East Texas oil boom
- · Interstate Oil Compact Commission
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Lowery-Phillips Military University
Amarillo, TX
In the early 1900s Amarillo was a young, ambitious railroad town eager for the trappings of a settled city — and a military university promised discipline, education, and prestige on the high plains. Lowery-Phillips Military University served that hope only briefly, closing its doors in 1917 as the nation turned toward the Great War. The buildings found a second life sheltering children at the Amarillo Children's Home before finally being demolished in 1966.
Fort Worth and Denver City Railway, First Railroad through the Texas Panhandle
Amarillo, TX
Chartered by Fort Worth citizens in 1873 but delayed by that year's financial panic, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway became the first railroad to cross the Texas Panhandle. Grading began in 1881 under famed engineer G. M. Dodge, and as crews pushed the rails northwest, their camps became towns—Amarillo among them, born in 1887. The line's completion in 1888 opened a through route to Denver and helped transform the old buffalo range into an economy of cattle, grain, and petroleum.
A.T. & S.F. No. 5000 "Madam Queen"
Amarillo, TX
When locomotive No. 5000 entered Santa Fe service in December 1930, the railroad had long since stopped naming engines for people—but an early engineer nicknamed it "Madam Queen" after a character on the radio hit "Amos and Andy," and it stuck. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as a powerful pilot model, the great steam engine ran more than 1.75 million miles before diesels made it obsolete. Retired in 1953, the "Queen" was presented to the City of Amarillo in 1957.
Henry B. Sanborn
Amarillo, TX
In 1875 Henry B. Sanborn became the Texas sales agent for Joseph Glidden's newly patented barbed wire, arriving as ranchers and farmers fought over whether the open range should be fenced. Sanborn bought thousands of acres to prove barbed wire could enclose vast holdings, and in 1881 partnered with Glidden to build the famous Frying Pan Ranch, ringed by 120 miles of wire. His promotion of the Amarillo townsite later earned him the title "Father of Amarillo."