This collection consists of company records, correspondence, ephemera, photographs, and audio/visual material related to the Whittier family and company.

Mericos H. Whittier (1867-1928) was an American real estate developer and a pioneer in the early California petroleum industry. Whittier was born on March 11, 1867 in Caribou, Maine. He was the son of Charles Green Whittier (1841-1912) and Ruth Emmons Keech (1841-1930).George Gregg Crane (1835-1919) was married to Adeline Huntley Crane (1836-1914). The couple had two children: Amy and Abbie (1868-1943). George Gregg Crane was considered a pioneer in horticulture. Adeline Huntley Crane was a charter member of the Universalist church in Santa Paula, California."Max" Whittier and Burton Greene, along with four other families, were instrumental in starting Belridge Oil Company in 1911. The obscure oilfield in Kern County, California was the largest independent oil producer in the state. Leland K. Whittier would later sell the company to Shell Oil Company. The purchase price was nearly $3.7 billion, the largest corporate acquisition in United States history at the time. "Max" Whittier was also the co-founder of Beverly Hills, California.

78 boxes and 1 folder

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