Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County

company’s business, and eventually Gates
succeeded Stilwell as head of the Kansas City,
Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad, reorganized as the
Kansas City Southern Railroad. Gates son,
Charles G. Gates, also took an interest in the
development of southern Jefferson County. Soon
he controlled the rice mill operation and
constructed a powerhouse to generate electricity
for the Port Arthur area. After Gates purchased
the Port Arthur Channel and Dock Company in
1902, he gained control of the last of Stilwell’s
assets in the county. Gates regarded his colonial
mansion in Port Arthur as his primary home for
the remainder of his life, evidenced by the
residence there of his wife, although they also
had homes in New York and elsewhere. After
Gates’ death, Mrs. Gates remained a benefactor
if not a resident of the area.
OIL
Stilwell’s prescience in building a railroad to
Port Arthur and shipping facilities there paid off
handsomely for Gates. Even before Stilwell
❖
Left: Home of John W. Gates, 2100
Lakeshore, adjacent to the Pompeiian
Villa. Dr. Murff F. Bledsoe, prominent
Port Arthur surgeon, purchased the
home shortly after the death of Mrs.
Gates in 1918.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST,
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
Below: Mary A. Gates Memorial
Hospital, constructed by John W.
Gates in memory of his mother at a
cost of $25,000. The hospital was
located on Lakeshore Drive at the foot
of Dallas Avenue. In 1918 Mrs. Gates
gave an additional $5,000 for the
support of the hospital, and, when she
died in 1918, she bequeathed $10,000
to the facility.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST,
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
Chapter III ✦ 23