Between 1911 and 1949, the General Petroleum Company occupied space in the Higgins Building, erected in 1910, at the southwest corner of West 2nd and South Main Streets.
In May 1926, Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony) acquired General Petroleum Corporation and this firm became the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company in 1931 following its merger with the Vacuum Oil Company, which was founded in Rochester, NY in 1866.
Vacuum Oil Company and Standard Oil Company of New York were established in 1882. Both companies became independent in 1911 when the U.S. Supreme Court dissolved the Standard Oil combine.
In 1918 Socony acquired a 79% interest in Magnolia Petroleum Company of Dallas, Texas. Magnolia controlled large crude oil stocks - producing and in reserve - as well as a large refinery in Beaumont and a thriving consumers market in Texas and surrounding states.
By 1955, General Petroleum's parent Socony-Mobil changed its name to the "Socony Mobil Oil Company." Four years later, the Magnolia Petroleum Company, General Petroleum Corporation, and Mobil Producing Company merged to form the Mobil Oil Corporation.
General Petroleum Corporation of California
