Max H. Whittier (1867–1925) was an American real estate developer and a pioneer in the early California petroleum industry.

Biography

Max Whittier (born Mericos Hector Whittier), was born to Charles G. Whittier and Ruth Keech, came to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

at the age of 24 and settled in the

Santa Paula Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa P ...

region where he secured a job as a farm hand. He would later acquire a position with the

Union Oil Company Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

where he attained a good knowledge of the oil business. When oil was discovered in Los Angeles, Whittier associated himself with Thomas A. O'Donnell in a co-partnership as drilling well contractors. After gaining enough knowledge, the partnership was ended and each branched out in independent interests drilling wells in the

Coalinga Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas. It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''. Th ...

oil fields. After abandoning the Coalinga interests for brighter prospects in the Kern River region he was instrumental in organizing the Green & Whittier Oil Company, Kern Oil Company and the Shamrock Oil Company. Later these companies merged into the

Associated Oil Company Associated Oil Company was an American oil and gas company once headquartered in San Francisco, California and served much of the Pacific West Coast, including Hawaii, as well as the Orient and merged with the Tidewater Oil Company in 1938. Hi ...

, where Whittier was the largest stockholder and was on the board of directors. The Associated Oil Company was one of the largest in the state of California, having its own pipeline, shops and marketing facilities.Los Angeles Examiner
Press reference library: notables of the Southwest, being the portraits and biographies of progressive men of the Southwest, who have helped in the development and history making of this wonderful country, 1912, p. 485 It led to the formation of the Whittier Oil Company, which in 1979 was sold to Shell Oil.Whittier Trust Company
/ref> As well as holding interests in those companies, Whittier was a large stockholder and director of Rodeo Land and Water Company which held 3,100 acres in the areas of which would become Beverly Hills, as well as the Amalgamated Oil Company, Titicaca Oil Company, and the Inca Oil Company as well as several more interests in Oklahoma. He also acquired large areas of land in the Lost Hills districts helping organize the Belridge Oil Company, which held 31,000 acres in that district. In 1935, his family started the Whittier Trust Company, a multi-family office and state-chartered wealth management company.

The Whittier Mansion

The Whittier Mansion, on a plot on Sunset Boulevard, gained notoriety after its purchase in 1978 by Saudi Sheik Mohammed al Fassi, who boldly redecorated the Spanish-style mansion, painting the property’s classical statues, visible from the street, in flesh tones – genitalia and all.Marc Wanamaker, ''Beverly Hills, 1930-2005'', Arcadia Publishing, 2006
/ref> The garish painted statues turned the mansion into a tourist attraction until it was heavily damaged in a 1980 fire and torn down five years later. ''

The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The f ...

'' was filmed at this mansion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittier, Max American businesspeople in the oil industry 1928 deaths People from Caribou, Maine Businesspeople from Maine 1867 births