Historical Marker
General Ernest O. Thompson
Amarillo, Potter County · Texas
Erected 1966
Before the oil fields, Thompson fought Amarillo's utilities. Born at Alvord in 1892 and in Amarillo by 1902, he took a law degree at the University of Texas in 1917, worked out a mass machine-gun technique in the Meuse-Argonne and later bought and ran the Amarillo Hotel. In 1924 he married the opera singer May Peterson. Elected mayor in 1928 on a promise to cut rates, he set up a competing city gas company and led a boycott of telephones until the companies lowered their rates. He ran for governor in 1938 and 1940 and lost both times.
What the plaque says
General Ernest O. Thompson Acknowledged world leader in petroleum conservation. A third generation Texan. Left college for World War I, earning battlefield promotion to Lieutenant Colonel--youngest in the U.S. Army. In 1930 gained national recognition as crusading Amarillo mayor. Appointed in 1932 to Railroad Commission of Texas, won successive elective terms, chairman many years. Began Commission duty by enforcing proration in East Texas during world's greatest oil boom. Backed by Texas Rangers, closed off non-complying wells. His previous experience was in law practice, hotel ownership; quickly learned oil and gas engineering principles, along with regulation and conservation. In 1934, under advice of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, led in founding Interstate Oil Compact Commission. Represented the U.S. at World Petroleum Congress in Paris in 1937. Went into Army in World War II, but returned to Texas on presidential order to insure oil supplies for Allied military forces. In 1951 was awarded American Petroleum Institute Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement. An international authority on oil--key to world trade--he had great economic influence. (1966)
Where it stands
35.23900, -101.83311 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Route 66 Sixth Street Historic District — 2.7 miThirteen blocks of Amarillo's streetcar suburb that Route 66 turned into a roadside strip, from the 1922 Nat to Texaco, Phillips and Dutch Mill stations, now shops and bars.
- Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument — 5.3 miFour sealed time capsules raised in Amarillo in 1968 for helium's centennial, in the city that for years produced almost all the world's commercial helium from the Cliffside field.
- Cadillac Ranch — 9.4 miTen Cadillacs from 1949 to 1963 planted nose down in a pasture west of Amarillo by the Ant Farm collective in 1974, on private land where visitors are let in to paint them.
- Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum — 18 miThe Panhandle's great collection, some two million objects behind a 1933 Art Deco hall carved with cattle brands, closed to the public since March 2025 over fire-safety violations.