The house flag of the Gulf Oil Corporation, New York. A rectangular white flag. The name 'Gulf' in blue letters is placed on a white strip across an orange disc with a blue border. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The design is printed. A rope and two Inglefield clips are attached.

In 1892, a man named Patillo Higgins founded an oil company near Beaumont, Texas named Gladys City Oil, after he had a hunch about the prospect of oil on a mound near Beaumont called Spindletop. Eight years and no oil later, Higgins advertised the Spindletop property in a trade journal and it was purchased by a former Imperial Austrian Navy officer Anthony Lucas who was then residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lucas subsequently sought funding from a Pittsburgh oil firm named Guffey and Galey. In January 1901, oil finally struck on Spindletop, and the Guffey Petroleum Company was founded shortly afterwards.

From 1901-1907, Guffey Petroleum was funded by the famous Mellon banking house, also located in Pennsylvania. In 1907, James Guffey was replaced by W.L. Mellon as the head of Guffey Petroleum, whose name then changed to Gulf Oil. Gulf’s big product in the early 20th century was motor fuel, and it created the world’s first drive-up service station. Spindletop was conveniently located near the town of Port Arthur, which had direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Port Arthur housed a Gulf Oil refinery as well as their tanker fleet. After World War I, in which Gulf Oil’s fleet was used for service, Gulf Oil created Gulfpride, the ‘World’s Finest Motor Oil’.

W.L. Mellon died in 1949 after being the head of Gulf Oil for 45 years. At the time of his death, Gulf was the eighth largest manufacturing company in the United States. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Gulf Oil continued its growth with new refineries, chemical plants, marketing programs, and the construction of six oil tankers. Today, Gulf Oil continues to produce refined petroleum products such as kerosene, motor fuel, and heating oil. It currently operates approximately 1800 service stations throughout the eastern United States.