Sid Williams Richardson

Born in Athens on April 25, 1891, Sid Williams Richardson became known as the “Billionaire Bachelor.” When he was 16, Sid traveled to Louisiana, to purchase cattle with money he saved. A natural trader and negotiator, Richardson sold the calves once he returned to Athens and tripled his money, making $3,500. Following high school, Sid briefly attended Baylor University in Waco and Simmons (now Hardin-Simmons) University in Abilene. In 1909, Sid’s brother-in-law helped him get a job with an oil well supply company in Wichita Falls where he worked as a salesman, oil scout, lease purchaser and, by 1917, an independent oil producer. In 1919, Richardson partnered with his long-time friend Clint Murchison to buy land and lease or sell the lands to oil companies seeking new areas to drill. Sid’s finances fluctuated as he lost and gained wealth but he persisted. In 1929, he discovered the keystone field in Winkler County, drilling 80 straight wells without a dry hole in what would become one of the largest oil fields in Texas and making Richardson one of the most successful independent oil men in the country. In 1936, Sid purchased San Jose Island, five miles off the Gulf Coast from Rockport, Texas, where he built the only home he ever owned. He hosted Pres. Franklin Roosevelt there in May 1937 during his visit to Texas. Pres. Roosevelt later sought Richardson’s council on the nation’s petroleum reserves during WWII. Sid was a close friend of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower following the war, entertaining him and Lyndon Johnson at San Jose Island. The island was used as a location to raise Texas Longhorn cattle to ensure their preservation. Sid was named to the National Petroleum Council, owned a chain of drug stores, a hotel and a television station, and assisted local charities. Sid died on September 30, 1959, and is buried in Athens.

Sid Williams Richardson is a historical marker in Athens, Henderson County, dedicated in 2016. It is one of 65 historical markers documented in Henderson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 155 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.1999, -95.8566 near Athens. The nearest cataloged historic site is Dulcinea Ann Holland Thompson Avriett (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Athens Cemetery, Clinton Williams Murchison, Sr., and Joseph Thomas La Rue_Stella E. Parsons La Rue.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507018530. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.