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

Standard Oil

Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...

 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

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

 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." (The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, pg 111)

Affiliations

• American Institute of Mining Engineers
• Panama Pacific Expedition Board Member
• General Petroleum Founder and Managing Director
• General Pipe Line Company Founder and President
• General Construction Company President
• Wabash Oil Company President
• Las Flores Land and Oil Company President
• Coalinga Kettlemen Oil Company Vice President
• Sauer Dough Oil Company Director
• Bankline Oil Company President
• Union Oil Company Director
• Union Provident Director
• San Vincent Land Company
• Santa Barbara Improvement Company
• Residential Development Company
• San Mateo Improvement Company
• San Mateo Hotel Company President
• Barneson-Hibberd Co-Founder
• Barneson-Hibberd Warehouse Company Co-Founder
• Macondray & Company
• Tyee Whaling Company
• San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Director
• Seattle Yacht Club Member
• Northwest International Yachting Association Commodore 1893
• San Francisco Yacht Club Member
• St. Francis Yacht Club Member
• Pacific Union Club Member
• Union League Club Member
• Olympic Club Member
• Press Club Member
• Bohemian Club
  Bohemian Club
  The Bohemian Club is a private men's club in San Francisco, California, United States.Its clubhouse is located at 624 Taylor Street in San Francisco...
  
  Member
• Commercial Club Member
• California Club of Los Angeles Member
• San Mateo Polo Club Vice President