White Eagle Statue

Established in 1911 after an anti-trust disagreement between the US government and John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, the White Eagle Oil Company was an Oil and Refining Company with accompanying gas stations. The company’s gas stations were marked by a large, impressive Eagle sculpture that was designed to flank the entrance to each station. These eagles were either made of cast iron or concrete. Internally lit milk glass eagles also adorned the top of the gas pumps.

The Augusta, KS Oil Field boasted some 200 oil and gas wells when fledgling White Eagle Oil Company started construction of the refinery. The oil company and refinery were named for the chief of the Ponca Indians, White Eagle (c. 1825-1914).

During the Roaring ‘20s, the refinery grew in size and sophistication. And, with it, White Eagle Oil and Refining Company grew in market share in the Midwest.

The White Eagle Oil and Refining Company had gas stations in eleven states by the time it was acquired by the Standard Oil Company of New York in 1929. In 1930, Socony acquired White Eagle Oil and Refining Co. Later in the same year, Socony became Mobil Oil Corporation

H.E. “Hap” Darlington, Division Manager, and associate of the White Eagle Oil and Refining Co.

Donated to the Kansas City Automotive Museum by Jeff Darlington.