Joseph S. Cullinan, Pioneer in Texas Oil
Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
( former homesite of) At age 14 Joseph S. Cullinan (1860-1937) began his career as a laborer in the Pennsylvania oilfields. After the Corsicana oil discovery in 1894, Cullinan played a major role in the early development of the field. A daring business leader, he moved his operation to new fields and organized companies, including Texaco, to meet the needs of the growing oil and gas industry. He influenced legislation to prevent abuse and to provide conservation measures. His foresight in exploration, production, refining, and marketing helped establish Texas as a leader in the petroleum industry.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph S. Cullinan learned the oil business the hard way, starting at fourteen as a laborer in the Pennsylvania fields. Drawn to Texas after the 1894 Corsicana discovery, he became a driving force in the young state's petroleum industry, organizing companies—including the enterprise that became Texaco—and integrating exploration, production, refining, and marketing. He also pressed for early conservation and anti-waste legislation as the industry exploded.
Why it matters
Cullinan helped turn Texas into the center of American oil, shaping an industry that would transform the nation's economy and its place in the world.
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Related people
- · Joseph S. Cullinan
Related events
- · Corsicana oil discovery
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Founded in Kansas in 1890 by Horace Greeley Johnston and Charles Rittersbacher, this firm began as a water-well drilling business before the partners moved to Corsicana. In 1894, while drilling for water on South 12th Street, they struck crude oil—the accidental discovery of the Corsicana oil field. The company went on to manufacture rotary drilling equipment, converted to munitions work in World War II, and finally closed under Bethlehem Steel in 1959.
Stephen Augustus Pace
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Stephen Augustus Pace came to Texas in 1868 and settled in Corsicana in 1871, where he built a wholesale grocery business and threw himself into civic life. He served as a city alderman and commissioner, helped found the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce, and sat on the committee that established the town's public library. From 1887 until his death in 1921 he lived in the house this marker commemorates.