Home County of William Pinckney McLean
Victoria, Victoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Member of the first Railroad Commission of Texas) A Victoria lawyer. Elected from this county, 1861, to state legislature. In U.S. Congress, 1872-1874. Appointed by Gov. James S. Hogg to newly-formed Commission, created to regulate shipping rates and practices. In his term, 1891-1895, transportation of petroleum became important to Texas railways. Oil and gas regulation, a major responsibility, began in 1917 with jurisdiction over pipelines. The legislature made the Commission responsible in 1919 for oil and gas conservation. Proration began in the 1920's. Complete regulation came in 1930's with 1,700,000-barrel-a-day production in East Texas, and use of martial law to enforce Commission rules. Commission policies were acclaimed when in World War II Texas was able to supply the Allies with great stores of oil necessary for victory. The Commission's goal is to prevent waste and protect oil and gas reserves by orderly regulation of exploration, production and transportation. Such men as Commissioner McLean set high ethical standards that still prevail, causing the Commission to merit the confidence of the people and of the petroleum industry. (See other side for names of all Commission members) (1966) Plaque on reverse: MEMBERS OF THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS *John H. Reagan, 1890 - 1903 Wm. P. McLean, 1891 – 1894 L. L. Foster, 1891 – 1895 *L. J. Storey, 1894 – 1909 N. A. Stedman, 1895 – 1897 *Allison Mayfield, 1897 – 1923 O. B. Colquitt, 1903 – 1911 Wm. D. Williams, 1909 – 1916 John L. Wortham, 1911 – 1913 Earle B. Mayfield, 1913 – 1923 Charles H. Huddleston, 1916 – 1918 *Clarence E. Gilmore, 1919 – 1929 N. A. Nabors, 1923 – 1925 W. M. W. Splawn, 1923 – 1924 *C. V. Terrell, 1924 – 1939 *Lon A. Smith, 1925 – 1941 *Pat M. Neff, 1929 – 1932 *Ernest O. Thompson, 1932 – 1965 Jerry Sadler, 1939 – 1942 *Olin Culberson, 1941 – 1961 *Buford Jester, 1942 – 1947 *Wm. J. Murray, Jr., 1947 – 1963 *Ben Ramsey, 1961 – Jim C. Langdon, 1963 – Byron Tunnell, 1965 – *CHAIRMEN
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Victoria lawyer elected to the legislature in 1861 and to Congress from 1872 to 1874, William Pinckney McLean was appointed by Governor James S. Hogg to the newly created Railroad Commission of Texas, serving from 1891. First charged with regulating shipping rates, the Commission soon took on oil and gas—pipelines in 1917, conservation in 1919, and full regulation in the 1930s, when East Texas poured out 1.7 million barrels a day and martial law enforced its rules.
Why it matters
McLean helped found the agency whose oil-and-gas oversight became a national model, and whose supply proved vital to the Allies in World War II.
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Related people
- · William Pinckney McLean
- · James S. Hogg
- · John H. Reagan
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Victoria County, C.S.A.
Victoria, TX
During the Civil War, Victoria County served the Confederacy as a transportation, military, and supply hub, sitting on a branch of the "cotton road" that carried Texas cotton to Mexico to be traded for guns, medicine, and other scarce goods. Its 1861 vote favored secession more than three to one, and its men filled cavalry companies and marched in famous units like Terry's Texas Rangers and Hood's Brigade. On the home front residents improvised cloth, candles, and coffee substitutes, and in 1863 they sank boats in their own river harbor to block a feared Federal invasion.