In 1924, L. H. Pritchard and J. Steven Anderson opened the West Texas Refinery Company just west of Colorado City, Texas, to process Mitchell County Oil. When the two oil industry pioneers started up this project in Texas, their work formed the roots of what soon came to be an iconic brand of gasoline in the early part of the 20th Century.
Col-Tex Challenge Gasoline
Ownership soon changed to Standard Oil of California, which renamed the company “Col-Tex Refining”. From the 1930s to 1950s, the refinery operated at a full capacity of 12,000 barrels a day. The company was a major part of Colorado City life; it employed many local workers and residents timed their activities by the refinery whistle.
In February of 1950, the Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation had a booth in the exhibit hall of the Chicago Automobile Show (now known as the Chicago Auto Show), billing themselves as oil producers and refiners.
HELLO NEIGHBOR WE’RE PROUD TO BRING YOU THE NEW, HIGHER ANTI-KNOCK ANDERSON-PRICHARD CHALLENGE GASOLINE
Over in the big Anderson-Prichard at Cyril they’ve been doing things for you–and your car. Today you have the result of months of painstaking refining work–a new and vastly improved CHALLENGE gasoline.
Now, when you really “step on the gas,” if it’s CHALLENGE gas you won’t notice the slightest knock or “ping.” But as the miles fly by, you will notice how much longer your gas holds out. There’s a lot more power and quicker acceleration in this new CHALLENGE gasoline. And you get minimum dilution in crank case oil.
As your neighborhood independent jobbers, we urge you to try this gasoline. Its high anti-knock value is assured you by the severest test method in the oil industry. It’s the finest gasoline Anderson-Prichard ever produced to sell at regular prices!”
AIDS OKLAHOMANS!
As an Oklahoma owned and operated oil company, Anderson-Prichard keeps Oklahoma money at home–keeps hundreds of employees at work, helps local business through the purchase of supplies and equipment; and indirectly aids you through tax payments amounting to several hundred thousand dollars a year. The Anderson-Prichard slogan “Hello Neighbor” means more than just a friendly greeting.
One of the finest depictions of a classic old Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation brand gas station is the one created by painter Michael Young. His “Wood Oil Company” is a beautiful painting of a gleaming white, full-service filling station, circa 1950s, with the attendant checking the oil for a classic convertible.
Other classic cars and a pickup truck surround the station, including even a hotrod, with flames painted on its hood and door.
The painting is bright, with colors reflecting off of the pavement, as though there had just been a rain, or the attendant had just washed it off, giving it a mirrored surface.
The Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation appeared on the first annual Fortune 500 list that was ever published, in 1955.
The Fortune 500 is compiled and published by Fortune magazine, and it ranks 500 of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue for their fiscal years. The list includes both publicly held companies, as well as privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available.
Architect’s Drawing of Colcord Building – Early Anderson-Prichard Oil Company Headquarters Offices, Oklahoma City, Circa 1919
Lev H. Prichard and J. Steve Anderson met in Oklahoma City through their separate involvement in the state’s burgeoning oil industry, and in 1919, they formed a partnership in the oil business.
Prichard had already been involved in brokering oil deals, first in his capacity as a young lawyer. He had worked earlier with Mr. Ramsey, who was big in business in the area (and for whom the “Ramsey Tower” was named, which later became known as the “APCO Tower”).
Prichard and Anderson formalized their business venture in 1920, and it was incorporated in Delaware under the name “Anderson-Prichard & Co., a.k.a. “AP&C”. While it was incorporated in Delaware, which conveyed legal advantages to the organization, the company’s principal offices were located in the Colcord Building in Oklahoma City. (more…)
While the Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation was founded as a Delaware corporation, Lev H. Prichard and J. Steve Anderson set up the company headquarters in the grand Colcord Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma back in 1919.
Architect’s Drawing of Colcord Building – Early Anderson-Prichard Oil Company Headquarters Offices, Oklahoma City, Circa 1919
The building was finished in 1909 and is considered to be Oklahoma City’s very first skyscraper. It is 145 feet (44 m) tall and currently has 14 floors (when it was completed in 1910, it only had 12 foors).
Welcome to the Anderson-Prichard Oil Company website!
This website provides a retrospective look into the history of an august company that existed in Oklahoma City from 1919 to 1960, and operated gas stations across multiple states in the central U.S., as well as oil exploration, oil drilling, and crude refinery operations.
The company grew from a partnership between Lev H. Prichard and J. Steve Anderson. These entrepreneurs and philanthropists quickly identified the business opportunities in Oklahoma and the fast-evolving oil industry, and they got involved in it.
J. Steve Anderson, and Lev H. Prichard, Company Co-Founders
