DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Petroleum Building in Midland, Texas. Now, every good story needs a believer — somebody who sees the future so clearly they're willing to bet everything on it before the rest of the world catches up. T.
S. Hogan was that kind of man. He came out of Montana as an attorney, a rancher, and an oilman, and in 1925 he arrived in the Permian Basin with his eyes wide open.
What Hogan saw was this: Midland sitting right at the center of the petroleum basin. Not near the center. Not close to it.
The center. And in his mind, that meant Midland was going to be the leading city of the whole region. He was convinced of it.
So in 1927, he didn't just say it — he announced it. He was going to build a building, right there in Midland, that would serve as the hub for area oil companies. A proper home for the oil business.
He brought in Wyatt C. Hedrick, a prominent architect out of Fort Worth, to design it. And by 1929, the thing was done.
Completed. Standing tall. On July 4th of that year, they held a formal dedication.
You can imagine the mood — champagne optimism, handshakes all around, Midland's big moment arriving right on schedule. Many people believed Hogan's enterprise was the signal. The proof.
Midland was on its way to becoming a major oil production center, just like the man said. And then. Only months after that dedication, the stock market crashed.
The Great Depression of the 1930s rolled in like a West Texas storm nobody had watched the horizon for. And if that weren't enough, oil was discovered in East Texas, and the price dropped — dropped hard — down to fifteen cents a barrel. Fifteen cents.
Companies that had just moved into Midland started closing their offices. The building that was supposed to be the center of everything sat in a quieter town than Hogan had envisioned. It wasn't until 1935 that those companies began drifting back to the Permian Basin.
Here's the thing about T. S. Hogan, though.
He wasn't wrong. He was just early. Midland did eventually become a leading center of oil production — exactly as he had envisioned.
The timing had been cruel, the Depression had been real, and the fifteen-cent barrel had stung. But the vision held. And when Midland's moment finally came, the Petroleum Building was right there — playing a significant role in the town's development, just as it was always meant to.
Sometimes believing something true is enough, even if the world makes you wait for it.
What the marker says
T. S. Hogan, a Montana attorney, rancher and oilman, came to the Permian Basin in 1925, where he became active in the oil business. He was convinced Midland was situated in the center of the petroleum basin and that it would become the leading city of the region. In 1927 he announced the construction of this building, which would serve as a center for the area oil companies. Designed by the prominent Fort Worth architect Wyatt C. Hedrick, it was completed in 1929. A formal dedication was held on July 4 of that year. Many believed that Hogan's enterprise signaled Midland's future as a major oil production center. The projections, unfortunately, were premature. Only months after the building was completed, the stock market crash occurred that resulted in the Great Depression of the 1930s. With the discovery of oil in East Texas, the price soon dropped to 15c a barrel. Many companies closed their Midland offices and it was not until 1935 that they began to return to the Permian Basin. When Midland eventually became a leading center of oil production as Hogan had earlier envisioned, the Petroleum Building played a significant role in the town's development. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982