Waite Phillips
Waite Phillips | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Near Conway, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 1964 (aged 81) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Oil industry entrepreneurship; philanthropy including donation of Philbrook Museum of Art and Philmont Scout Ranch |
| Notable work | Philbrook Museum of Art, Philmont Scout Ranch, Philtower Building |
Waite Phillips (January 19, 1883 – January 27, 1964) was a prominent American entrepreneur in the petroleum industry who created a comprehensive enterprise encompassing oil extraction, refining, and distribution. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his ventures extended to office building development, banking, and ranching. Phillips gained recognition as a generous philanthropist, contributing to both local Tulsa organizations and nationwide initiatives. He constructed a grand 72-room residence in Tulsa, which he later donated to the municipality; this estate is now known as the Philbrook Museum of Art. Additionally, he bequeathed a substantial portion of his New Mexico ranch to the Boy Scouts of America, along with an office building to support its endowment. This property evolved into Philmont Scout Ranch, recognized as one of the largest youth camps globally. Phillips also provided a notable donation to the University of Southern California, where a building bears his name in tribute.
Early life and education
Waite Phillips and his identical twin brother Wiate[1] were born near Conway, Iowa to Lewis "Lew" Franklin Phillips, a Civil War veteran, and Lucinda Josephine "Josie" Faucett Phillips.[2] Waite, the younger twin by minutes, was the seventh child among ten siblings.
At age sixteen in 1899, Waite and Wiate left their family farm to explore the western and midwestern United States along with parts of Canada. To sustain themselves during their travels, they took on various labor-intensive jobs including railroad construction, mining, lumber work, and spent one winter trapping fur in the Bitterroot Mountains. Their expedition concluded in Spokane, Washington on July 16, 1902, when Wiate succumbed to acute appendicitis.[3]
Career
After returning to Iowa, Waite attended college for six months before embarking on his professional path. With mentorship from his elder brothers Frank and L. E. Phillips, he shifted from coal mining operations in Iowa toward oil ventures beginning in 1906, establishing himself in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. His brothers were founders of what grew into Phillips Petroleum Company.
In 1914, Waite divested his oil interests back to them and initiated his own enterprise covering oil production, refining, and marketing that lasted nearly four decades. Post-1918, he set up headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he developed prominent office buildings such as the Philtower and Philcade Buildings. He also constructed the Italian Renaissance-style 72-room mansion known as Villa Philbrook. During the economic hardships of the Great Depression in 1938, he generously donated this mansion to Tulsa for use as an art museum—the present-day Philbrook Museum of Art. These properties have since been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. After this gift, Phillips and his wife Genevieve moved into a newly added 23-room penthouse atop the Philcade (completed in 1937), which served as their main residence in Tulsa until he sold it in 1942.
Phillips’ business interests extended beyond petroleum into banking, real estate development, and ranching across multiple areas in the Rocky Mountain region. Starting in 1922, he acquired extensive acreage near Cimarron, New Mexico, transforming the UU Ranch into a diversified agricultural and livestock operation. On this ranch he built the summer home known as Villa Philmonte, along with mountain trails and recreational facilities including hunting and fishing lodges—providing retreats from his urban business pursuits in Tulsa.
Philanthropy
Phillips occasionally welcomed groups such as Boy Scout troops to visit his ranch. In both 1938 and 1941, he contributed substantial portions of his ranch property to the Boy Scouts of America, including associated water, mineral, and timber rights. These lands were intended to serve the interests of Boy Scout members, with the larger gift stipulating that any commercial enterprises operating competitively must contribute their fair share in taxes. Additionally, he provided the 23-story Philtower Building in Tulsa as an endowment. These donations encompassed all necessary equipment and livestock, supporting a variety of ranch activities designed to offer educational opportunities and generate income for endowment purposes. To honor his generosity, the Scouts renamed the property Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp, which later became known as Philmont Scout Ranch. Phillips’ son, Elliott "Chope" Waite Phillips, remained actively involved with the ranch until his passing in 2015 at the age of 97.
Phillips passed away in 1964; among the principal beneficiaries of his estate was the University of Southern California, which commemorated his contribution by dedicating the 12-story Waite Phillips Hall in 1968.
In recognition of his achievements, Phillips was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1943.
Marriage and family
In 1909, Phillips entered into marriage with Genevieve Elliott in Knoxville, Iowa. The couple had two children: Helen Jane (1911–1963) and Elliott "Chope" Waite (1918–2015). Helen Jane was married to William R. Breckinridge, who was both a baseball player and an attorney.
Waite Phillips died on January 27, 1964, at the age of 81. He and his wife Genevieve are interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
See also
Further reading
- Michael Wallis, Beyond the Hills: The Journey of Waite Phillips, Oklahoma Heritage Association, 1995.
- Stephen Zimmer and Nancy Klein, Vision, Grace and Generosity: The Story of Waite and Genevieve Phillips and the Philmont Ranch, Boy Scouts of America, Philmont Scout Ranch, 2002.
External links
- Bio on Phillips
- "Phillips, Waite: Entrepreneur • – 1883–1964", Famous Iowans, Des Moines Register, 21 Nov 2009
- Listing of historic buildings, Tulsa Preservation Commission
- Waite Phillips Elementary School
- Boy Scouts of America, official site
- Voices of Oklahoma interview with Elliot & Virginia Phillips, conducted May 5, 2009, with Waite Phillips’ son and daughter-in-law
- ↑ "Phillips Family History". Philmont Scout Ranch. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
- ↑ Andrea Martin, "Phillips, Waite (1883-1964)," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed April 15, 2015.
- ↑ Wallis, Michael (2014). Oil Man: The Story of Frank Phillips and the Birth of Phillips Petroleum. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8061-4676-8.
- 1883 births
- 1964 deaths
- American businesspeople in the oil industry
- Philanthropists from Oklahoma
- Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- People from Greater Los Angeles
- People from Taylor County, Iowa
- Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Philmont Scout Ranch
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- 20th-century American businesspeople