Standard Oil Company of Ohio - Extremely Historic Variety - circa 1870's Unissued Ohio Oil Stock Certificate

Unissued Stock printed by Maverick, Stephan & Co., N.Y. 

Established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller and his associates in Cleveland, the Standard Oil Company of Ohio served as the foundation for one of the most influential corporate empires in history. Rockefeller’s strategy centered on aggressive efficiency and horizontal integration. By optimizing the refining process and securing secret, preferential rebates from railroads, the company swiftly surpassed its competitors. By the early 1880s, Standard Oil controlled approximately 90% of the refining capacity in the United States, employing a “trust” structure to manage its extensive network of subsidiaries across state boundaries and effectively monopolizing the burgeoning petroleum industry.

The company’s dominance ultimately became the primary catalyst for contemporary American antitrust legislation. Following decades of public protests and legal proceedings, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1911 that the trust violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, resulting in its dissolution into 34 independent entities. The original Ohio entity continued to operate as Sohio, maintaining a significant presence in the Midwest and subsequently playing a pivotal role in the development of the Alaskan Prudhoe Bay oil field. In 1987, the lineage of the original Ohio company concluded definitively when it was fully acquired by British Petroleum (BP), marking the final chapter of a firm that fundamentally reshaped the relationship between large corporations and the state.