McGaughan, Mary Stearns

In 1953, Harold Geller of Commerce Oil Corporation had a vision to build a large oil refinery somewhere in the Narragansett Bay area. He and Commerce Oil Corp. founder, Harry Lewis, formed a new company called Commerce Oil Refining Corp. After garnering the financial support of Gulf Oil Corp. and Lehman Brothers, a site in Portsmouth, Rhode Island was chosen.

In April 1956, Geller faced fierce legal opposition to the refinery by the Portsmouth Priory, whose property abutted the proposed site. The Priory hired Cornelius Moore, a notable Rhode Island attorney to represent their concerns. Rather than become entangled in a legal battle, Commerce Oil abandoned that prospective site and began buying land options in Jamestown for the same purpose. The project was embraced as an economic godsend by the Jamestown solicitor, Daniel Murray, and the Town Council.

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