Ross Sterling

February 11, 1875 (age 74)

Anahuac, Chambers County, Texas, United States

By the time he was seventeen he was managing his father's store. After his marriage Sterling built a second store, but around the turn of the century he entered the produce business in Galveston. The great Texas oil boom set off by the Spindletop discovery in 1901 gave him a fresh opportunity. The new oil field lay to the north of Galveston Bay, and beginning in 1903 Sterling opened feed stores at Sour Lake, Saratoga, Humble, and Dayton to supply the needs of the teams that hauled pipe and timbers and scooped out the great earthen storage tanks. Since the oil industry also needed lumber, Sterling bought an interest in the Dayton Lumber Company and in timber properties. In 1906 he joined in forming a corporation to build a railroad from Dayton to Cleveland, Texas, and the next year, shortly after the panic of 1907, he bought four small oil-field banks for $1, 000 each. Later, he organized others. He used his feed stores and banks to finance one another and both to finance other Sterling enterprises; although his methods sometimes troubled bank commissioners, his creditors were always paid sooner or later and none of his banks failed. Sterling began to invest directly in oil properties in 1909, when he bought two producing wells in the Humble field and gave G. Clint Wood, an experienced oilman, a half-interest for operating them. Once launched, Sterling continued to acquire oil properties. Early in 1911 he and other operators in the Humble field pooled their interests to form the Humble Oil Company, with a capitalization of $150, 000 and with Sterling as president. In 1912 the company headquarters were moved to Houston, which thereafter remained Sterling's home. Sterling used company surpluses over the next few years to acquire new leases and drill new wells. Six years after incorporation Humble's properties were estimated as worth between $1 million and $4 million. Although the company's success owed much to such practical oilmen as Wood, Charles B. Goddard, and, particularly, Walter W. Fondren, Sterling's managerial capacity, knowledge of oil properties, bargaining skill, and financial ability were principal factors. In 1916 Humble and several other companies decided to merge their properties in order to bargain more effectively in selling their oil to the larger companies. The new Humble Oil and Refining Company was incorporated in June 1917 with a capitalization of $4 million; Ross Sterling continued as president. The company promptly moved in the direction of greater integration, expanding existing refineries, selling oil to retail outlets, and planning a large refinery near the prolific Goose Creek field. It was also obliged to buy extensive new leases to keep up its oil reserves. Such steps required more funds than Sterling could raise locally, and in 1919 Humble agreed to sell 50 percent of its stock to the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) for $17 million. In return, Jersey Standard, which had been stripped of most of its producing capacity by the antitrust decision of 1911, gained a major source of crude oil. A new situation had been created, however, in which Sterling's unique abilities as promoter and financier were of less importance, and in 1922 William S. Farish - who had been largely responsible for both the new Humble company's organization and the negotiations with Jersey Standard - became president, with Sterling relegated to nominal duties as chairman of the board. Sterling was now free to seek new outlets for his enthusiasm and daring. He engaged in real estate development in Houston, including the construction of the twenty-two-story Sterling Building, and invested in a bank, several corporations, and a large ranch. By 1929 he was reportedly worth $80 million. In 1926 Dan Moody, an anti-Ferguson candidate Sterling had backed, was elected governor. Moody appointed Sterling chairman of the Texas Highway Commission, and during his four-year tenure the ex-oilman restored honest administration to the department. When, in 1930, Moody declined to run for a third term and Miriam Ferguson entered the race, Sterling reluctantly announced his own candidacy for governor. He supported both economy in government and additional taxes to supplement declining revenues. He did, however, establish a state child welfare department and a commission for unemployment relief. Sterling's most important and controversial action was aimed at curbing production in the recently discovered East Texas oil field, where a vast output was ruining prices and causing great waste. In a special session of the legislature in 1931, Sterling forced through a conservation act--but one which, to the disappointment of more farseeing oilmen like Farish, forbade any attempt to restrict production of oil to market demand. When overproduction continued in defiance of even the limited regulatory measures allowed under the new act, Sterling on August 17, 1931, declared martial law in four East Texas counties, but was overruled on February 18, 1932, by the federal district court. "Ma" Ferguson opposed Sterling again in 1932. On the defensive against a master rabble-rouser, Sterling - an inept speaker who disliked campaigning--this time was narrowly defeated in the runoff primary. Ross Sterling's remaining years were primarily devoted to recouping his personal fortune, most of which he had lost early in his governorship. He became manager of Miramar Oil and Refining Company, which became Sterling Oil and Refining Company in 1935, serving as president (1933 - 1946) and chairman of the board (1946 - 1949). Although never approaching his former wealth, he built a fortune that enabled him to live comfortably in Houston's exclusive River Roads district. Sterling contributed $100, 000 to Texas Christian University and lesser amounts to other philanthropies, including the South End Christian Church, of which he was a deacon. Sterling died of a heart attack in Fort Worth on March 25, 1949.

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