Fairfax in Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

The History of Gilmore Oil Company 1900-1945

Dairy Farm to Oil Field

Gilmore Oil Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, February 27, 2019

1. Gilmore Oil Marker

Inscription.
1872: Arthur Fremont Gilmore leaves Millersburg, Illinois and heads west to seek his fortune in California. He soon forms a partnership with Julius Carter and the two go into the dairy business in Compton, California.
1880: A.F. Gilmore and Julius Carter gain title to the plot of land which encompasses much of what is now the Fairfax District.
1890: Julius Carter and Gilmore dissolve their partnership. After drawing straws, Gilmore takes sole ownership of the 256-acre portion of Rancho La Brea and dairy operations continue.
1905: After first discovering oil in 1900, A.F. Gilmore establishes Gilmore Oil Company, replacing dairy herds with oil rigs. The landscape at Third and Fairfax would never be the same.
1918: When A.F. Gilmore dies, his son Earl Bell Gilmore assumes leadership of Gilmore Oil Company.
1921: Drilling ceases because of a change in city zoning laws. The Company forges ahead with oil and gas refining and distribution.
1920-43: Gilmore Oil Company becomes the largest independent oil company on the West Coast. In 1943, Mobil Oil takes over oil production. Gilmore Oil Company continues to operate service stations until 1945.

Photo Caption:
January 8, 1914.
A.F. Gilmore and his son Earl Bell

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Gilmore pose with their automobiles and fellow employees. In a few short decades, the once quiet dairy farm was transformed into a profitable oil field. Over the next 30 years, Los Angeles would envelop the land, changing the oil rigs into buildings and Gilmore Oil Company into the most successful independent oil distribution company on the West Coast.

Erected by A.F.Gilmore Company. (Marker Number 543.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument series list.

Location. 34° 4.34′ N, 118° 21.614′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in Fairfax. Marker can be reached from 3rd Street east of Fairfax Avenue. At Farmers Market near the parking lot, behind the Historical Gilmore Gasoline Station. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6333 W 3rd St, Los Angeles CA 90036, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Rancho La Brea Adobe (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Gilmore Field (approx. ¼ mile away); 1943: Ghetto Revolts and Partisans (approx. 0.3 miles away); 1941: Barbarossa and Pearl Harbor (approx. 0.3 miles

Photographed By Craig Baker, February 27, 2019

2. Gilmore Oil Marker

away); 1934: The Night of the Long Knives (approx. 0.3 miles away); 1936: False Peace of The Berlin Olympics (approx. 0.3 miles away); 1940: Blizkrieg in West/Terror in East (approx. 0.3 miles away); 1939: The Nazi Conquest of Europa (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

More about this marker. Another interpretive sign is located 200 feet north of this one. It tells the history of Gilmore Stadium, Gilmore Field, Gilmore Adobe, Farmers Market, etc.

Farmers Market is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 543, designated in 1991.

Also see . . . Gilmore History. The Original Farmers Market website entry (Submitted on March 2, 2019.)

Historical Gilmore Gasoline Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, February 27, 2019

3. Historical Gilmore Gasoline Station

Farmers Market image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, February 27, 2019

4. Farmers Market

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 2, 2019, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 1,455 times since then and 198 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 2, 2019, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.