John Barneson

Who was John Barneson?

Captain John Barneson was one of the most important figures in commerce and development on the Pacific Coast of California. He was responsible for the first oil pipeline in the State of California and was the Founder of General Petroleum which he later sold to Standard Oil of New York. Captain Barneson was a Director and Vice President of Standard Oil after the merger.

Captain Barneson was also a pioneer in the use of oil as a fuel for ocean steamers. He was one of the most popular social and business figures in the early 1900s and helped transform the economy of California.

In his memoirs Herbert Hoover wrote:

The matter was not itself so important but it brought me the acquaintance of Captain John Barneson, the president of General Petroleum. Captain John was one of the choice souls in American life. Honest, courageous, frank, generous and loyal, and with a high quality of humor, he had started before the mast; risen to command a naval supply ship in the Spanish-American War; gone into the shipping business for himself; thence into oil fuel business; from there finally into oil production, where he built up the General Petroleum Company to a great industry."