DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about John James Culbertson, out there in Lamar County. Now, some men are born to a place and never leave it. John James Culbertson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 16, 1853, grew up in large northeastern cities, and by all reasonable expectation might have stayed that way — a city man, through and through.
But then came cotton. And cotton, as Texas will tell you, has a way of rerouting a man's life without so much as asking permission. By 1882, Culbertson had married Emily Lou Lee of New Jersey, and not long after that he was on the road as a salesman for a cotton product company based in Alabama.
That job put him in the South, movin' through the kinds of towns where you could smell the gin houses and see the seed piling up — and that is exactly where John James Culbertson saw something other men were walking right past. He saw the potential for profit in cottonseed oil. So he moved to Paris, Texas.
And about 1884, he was instrumental in building the first Paris cotton mill. The company they called Paris Oil Works — well, it didn't stay independent for long. By 1887 it was sold to the American Cotton Oil Trust, and Culbertson moved on to Arkansas to manage a southern oil company plant.
Four years later, though, he and Emily came back to Paris. And when a man like that comes back with four years of experience and an eye for empire, things tend to happen. He built what you might fairly call a small cottonseed oil empire through the Paris Oil and Cotton Company, later known as Southland Cotton Oil Company.
Now here's where the story starts to widen out considerably. By 1913, Paris wanted to grow, and the people with the master plan for that growth wanted John James Culbertson at the table. The following year, 1914, the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas was formed — and as an influential Texas financier, Culbertson was appointed to its Board of Directors right from the start.
His reputation wasn't regional anymore; it had gone nationwide. So when President Woodrow Wilson needed someone to help organize a bureau to oversee cotton and cottonseed products for the U.S. Food Administration in 1917, he called on Culbertson.
But before any of that glory, Paris had suffered. In 1916, fire ravaged the city. And John and Emily Culbertson were among the leading citizens who rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt it.
That tells you something about them — when the city burned, they didn't step back. They stepped in. And over the years, the Culbertsons gave Paris gifts that still stand.
Public spaces, monuments, works of art. They gave to the Paris Public Library. And on the city's central plaza, there is a fountain — carved from imported Carrara marble — that they gave to the community they had chosen as their own.
John James Culbertson passed away on September 27, 1932. He started out a city boy from Cincinnati, followed cotton south, and ended up one of the most consequential figures Paris, Texas ever claimed. That Carrara marble fountain on the plaza has outlasted most everything else — and on a warm evening in Lamar County, when the light hits it just right, it's still doing the talkin'.
What the marker says
(March 16, 1853 - September 27, 1932) Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, John James Culbertson grew up in large northeastern cities. He married Emily Lou Lee of New Jersey in 1882 and soon became a salesman for a cotton product company based in Alabama. During his southern travels, Culbertson saw the potential for profit from cottonseed oil. He moved to Paris and was instrumental in building the first Paris cotton mill about 1884. The company, Paris Oil Works, was sold to American Cotton Oil Trust in 1887, and Culbertson moved to Arkansas to manage a southern oil company plant. Four years later the Culbertsons returned to Paris, where he built a small cottonseed oil empire through the Paris Oil and Cotton Company, later known as Southland Cotton Oil Company. Culbertson was asked to participate in a master plan for the growth of Paris in 1913. As an influential Texas financier, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas when it was formed in 1914. His nationwide reputation as a cotton producer led President Woodrow Wilson to appoint him to the board that organized a bureau to oversee cotton and cottonseed products for the U. S. Food Administration in 1917. After Paris was ravaged by fire in 1916, John and Emily Culbertson were among leading citizens who rebuilt the city. Held in high esteem by the people of Paris, the Culbertsons gave many public spaces, monuments and works of art to the city and several local institutions, including the Paris Public Library and the fountain of imported Carrara marble on the city's central plaza. (1999)