After the US gold rush in the 1850s, there was an increasing demand for production of oil such as kerosene for transportation, lighting, fuel, etc. In 1879, D.G. Scofield founded the Pacific Coast Oil Company, Chevron’s earliest predecessor, in San Francisco for a mission of drilling crude oil and producing oil related products. In 1890, Pacific Coast Oil Company built a large refinery in Alameda, California that would dominate against other competitors and would become the "largest producer and refiner of petroleum in California" (Corbett 7).

Another dominant producer and distributor of oil, throughout the late 1870s, was Standard Oil Corporation, founded by John D. Rockefeller in Pennsylvania. Standard Oil massively controlled the oil industry in the US through cartelization of the railroad system. From Granitz and Klein’s theory, Standard Oil was able to cartelize the railroad system through dynamically adjusting production and costs, in favor of monopolization (Priest 554). The advantage of the railroads allowed the expansion of Standard Oil’s market and vertically integrated facilities. Standard Oil persisted in controlling over oil supplies by dominating facilities dependent on fuel such as transportation, storage, distribution, etc.

In 1900, Standard Oil purchased Pacific Coast Oil and merged as Standard Oil Corporation of California. The following year, Standard Oil continued their expansion in the oil market by purchasing land in East Yards (Point Richmond), a tiny village in Contra Costa County, CA. J.C. Black, Ed Garrard, and William S. Rheem would be leaders in the construction of the Richmond oil refinery in Peters and Silva Farms, an Alameda facility originally used for farmers. The oil refinery was completed in 1902, and the shipping of crude oil began. During its first year, the refinery processed more than 3 million barrels of crude oil with 80 original employees (Chevron).

Throughout this period, more operations were built for refinery enhancements such as railroads, laboratories, pipelines, and other accessories. As Standard Oil expanded more land in Point Richmond in 1906, the location was considered to be one the largest refineries in the Pacific Coast and was the heart of the oil industry (Corbett 8). The landscape of Port Richmond has dramatically transformed from farmland into an industrial powerhouse. The population of Point Richmond consisted of Standard Oil’s workforce and grew exponentially over time.

Richmond was a major supplier in fuel and resources for the automotive industry and the military during World War I and II. Standard Oil’s initiatives have shifted from economic growth to modernization of refinery products for federal agencies. In 1926, an essential Standard Oil product that emerged was Zerolene, an lubricating oil that has the ability to “flow freely at zero”, meaning the oil can withstand freezing conditions (The American Century). Because of this benefit, it was a revolutionary product throughout many industries.