O.K. Guys, here we go...
As America expanded into the western states in the 1800's, so did the need for petroleum products. Kerosene for lamps, harness oil and axle lubricants for harnesses and wagons, white gasoline for stoves, as well as other products were needed. These products were readily available in eastern markets, but hard to obtain in the west. So as prospecters had previously sought gold and silver, other men sought out oil with that same pioneering spirit.
Among those men were Demetrius Scofield and Frederick Taylor, who had joined forces, to form the California Star Oil Works, on July 8, 1876. By investing in the small, Los Angeles Oil Company, Taylor & Scofield were in the oil buisness.
Taylor, who went to San Francisco in 1852 at the age of 16 to distill kereosene, was lured by the promise of riches, in the newly forming oil industry. Scofield, the junior officer, a financial wizard from San Francisco, had previously worked in the Pennsylvania oil fields, and would later be instrumental in the growth of the Chevron Company.
They soon found oil near Los Angeles.
It wasn't long before Pico Canyon was flowing large amounts of oil. In 1877, Pico #4, drilled only a year earlier to provide a modest amount of oil, became a gusher after being deepend, to 560 feet.
Yet even with the capability to produce large amounts of oil, the company struggled. Lacking the facilities for storage, transportation, and distribution, Scofield & Taylor were looking for help.
That help turned out to be George Loomis, Charles N Felton, and Lloyd Tevis, who on September 10, 1879, acquired California Star Oil Works, and formed the Pacific Coast Oil Company (PCO)
And thats enough for tonight. I'll be back tommorrow with more...
[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-07-2005).]
