by Joanna Popp '03 and Ruth VanAcker '03

The main focus of the company town was the production of petroleum. To this end, oil companies needed to foster a reliable and satisfied workforce. This they achieved with the provision of a variety of valuable social services combined with a closely monitored encouragement of community life. Within these limits, company towns developed a wide range of recreational activities and built a vibrant community that tied the workers, the families and the associates of the company into a unified but heterogeneous body.