Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Gulf Oil Corporation Reston records must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Preferred Citation

Gulf Oil Corporation Reston records, C0144, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the Gulf Oil Corporation on October 16, 1989.

Processing Information

The Gulf Oil Corporation Reston records were originally attached to the larger Planned Community Archives collection currently in the Special Collections and Archives. In 2009 the documents were removed and organized into a separate collection still housed in the Special Collections and Archives at George Mason University Libraries. The old box and folder numbers are also included as part of the new arrangement.

Processed in January 2009 by Emily Martin.

Historical Information

The Gulf Oil Corporation was founded in 1901 when oil was discovered in Spindletop, Texas. The company invested millions of dollars into the development of gasoline in the early Twentieth Century. By the early 1930s, it had grown into a major United States corporation. The corporation continued to grow into the 1960s.

During that time Gulf Oil became an investor into Robert E. Simon's planned community in Reston, Virginia. As one of his principal investors, Gulf Oil stepped in to save the project from bankruptcy in 1967. The Gulf Reston officials continued development of the New Town and for more than ten years encouraged a diversity in housing sizes, styles, and prices.

Scope and Content

This collection of papers documents the investment of $4 million from the Gulf Oil Corporation for the purpose of developing Reston, Virginia. All of the records are dated September 11, 1963. The collection is small and all 14 folders are contained within a single document case.

There is only series in this collection, and it consists of exhibit files. The series has the loan proposal from the Gulf Oil Corporation and each exhibit that was presented. There are 12 exhibits in all with an exhibit index in the first folder of the collection.

Arrangement

Organized into one series.

Related Material

The Special Collections and Archives also holds the Planned Community Archives and other personal papers and organizational records that document Reston, Virginia, and other planned communities.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Gulf Oil Corporation.

Geographical Names:

• Reston (Va.)

Subjects:

• Housing--Virginia--Reston.
• Planned communities--Virginia--Reston.

Adjunct Descriptive Data