Standard Oil of Kentucky

.Droz, R.V., [http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm A History of the Standard Oil Company] 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2006.]

Formation and early years

The Standard Oil Company of Kentucky was incorporated on October 8, 1886 under Kentucky laws. [http://www.scripophily.net/stoilcoke19.html Standard Oil Company – 1928] Scripophily.com, 1996–2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.] It was founded as a division of the Standard Oil Trust to handle the assets of the Chess, Carley & Company, which Standard had acquired to handle product marketing and distribution for the southeastern U.S.Droz, R.V., [http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm A History of the Standard Oil Company] 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2006.] It maintained corporate offices in all of the states it serviced, and also owned an oil refinery in Louisville, Kentucky with a 500,000 barrel/year capacity. In 1892, it acquired the properties of Consolidated Tank Line Company.

On the breakup of Standard Oil

When the monopoly was broken up as an illegal trust in 1911, [ [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=221&invol=1 STANDARD OIL CO. OF NEW JERSEY v. U S, 221 U.S. 1 (1910)] , Thomson FindLaw, 1994–2006, Retrieved November 22, 2006.] Kyso was spun off to market to the states of Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. As was common at the time, though no longer controlled by a single entity, the various "Baby Standards" still continued to cooperate. For example, Kyso was supplied by fellow "Baby Standard" Standard Oil of New Jersey, better known as Esso. The company avoided the consolidation prevalent in the industry throughout the first half of the century, and continued to sell various Esso and Mobil Oil products.Droz,R.V., [http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm A History of the Standard Oil Company] 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2006.] [ [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=988 "Standard Oil Company"] , Ohio Historical Society, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.] In 1930, it acquired the assets of Reed Oil Corp. of Atlanta, Georgia.http://www.scripophily.net/stoilcoke19.html Standard Oil Company – 1928] Scripophily.com, 1996–2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006] ] The Riverside Refinery, built by Kyso circa 1918 in West Louisville, Kentucky is still the source of considerable study due to environmental concerns [ [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/rubber/rub_p1.html PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT RUBBERTOWN INDUSTRIAL AREA JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY] Retrieved November 22, 2006.]

Acquisition by Chevron

In 1961, it was acquired by Standard Oil of California, effectively pushing Esso out of the former Kyso territory. [Thompson, Eric V. [http://www.virginia.edu/igpr/APAG/apagoilhistory.html A Brief History Of Major Oil Companies In The Gulf Region] Arabian Peninsula and Gulf Studies Program, Retrieved November 22, 2006.] Esso began marketing itself across the region as the "official" Standard brand oil. In 1966, Chevron sued over the use of Standard, and won, forcing Esso to rebrand itself as Enco over the former Kyso territory. During and after the merger, Kyso constructed the Pascagoula Refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, which began operations in 1963, and continues to operate today. [ [http://www.chevron.com/products/about/pascagoula/refineryprofile/ Pascagoula Refinery Profile] , Chevron.com, 2002–2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.] In 1971, Chevron changed over all of the former Kyso stations to the Chevron logo, all but eliminating the former brand. It still maintains some Standard-branded stations in all of its former territories, including the former Kyso states, in order to protect its use of the brand in those areas.Droz, R.V., [http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm A History of the Standard Oil Company] 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2006.]

Cultural references

*Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, started his first restaurant, the Sanders Court and Cafe, as part of a Standard Oil station in Corbin, Kentucky in 1930. [ http://www.kfc.com/about/history.asp "History-KFC", KFC.com 2006, Retrieved November 22, 2006.]

*Though now a defunct brand, Kyso road maps published during the company's prominence in the 1930s and 1940s, are highly sought after by map collectors. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/automobiles/collectibles/12MAPS.html?8dpc "When Maps Reflected the Romance of the Road"] "The New York Times", November 12, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006 "note:subscription required".]

References

Further reading

Tarbell, Ida M. [http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/MAIN.HTM The History of The Standard Oil Company] McCLURE, PHILLIPS AND CO, 1904. Retrieved November 22, 2006.