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.
Jamestown had poor economic prospects at that time and many were enticed by the idea of the economic benefits a large refinery might bring. Dr. William Miner, a retired osteopath whose property was next to the refinery site, formed the Jamestown Protective Association (JPA) and Cornelius C. Moore was once again enlisted to thwart the efforts of building a refinery along Narragansett Bay. A counter group, the Citizens' Committee for Establishment of a Modern Refinery on Jamestown, was formed headed by Daniel Murray, polarizing the town. After a town vote with 777 in favor and 183 opposed, prospects for Dr. Miner's group seemed dim.
In August 1956, a public hearing was held. Governor Dennis Roberts and the Town Council gave their enthusiastic support for the refinery. However, Rear Admiral John Snackenberg, First Naval District Commandant, released letters he had written Mr. Geller stating that flight operations from the Naval Air Station at Quonset Point would be at risk. In addition, Dr. Miner had acquired 600 signatures from property owners who were summer residents and as such could not vote in Jamestown.
Upon examining the refinery's plans, the Navy began to seriously question the prudence of such a venture so close to torpedo training, ship navigation, and flight paths. The Rhode Island governor's advisory commission also raised the fear that a refinery would jeopardize civilian jobs supplied by the Navy presence. In 1957 another anti-refinery group, the Narragansett Bay Home Owners Association, was formed. It unified smaller anti-refinery groups scattered throughout the area. A suit was filed by two Jamestown residents concerning the building of a pier and was ruled in Commerce's favor. Commerce Oil Refining Corp. filed suit in state Superior Court in Newport against Dr. Miner and 16 others for two million dollars each for conspiracy to obstruct the lawful plans for the refinery. A counter suit was made by the 17 seeking an injunction against the refinery.
With waning financial support and behind construction schedule, Commerce Oil Refining Corp.'s attorney, Mr. Quinn asked the presiding judge, Edward Day, that the conspiracy charges be dropped on March 11, 1958. Judge Day dismissed the suit "with prejudice" which meant the defendants could claim damages and their counterclaim suit of "anticipatory nuisance" could be heard in Federal Court. After forty one days of testimony, Judge Day issued a decision on January 5, 1959 that upheld the JPA's assertion that the refinery would be a nuisance and depreciate property values. Commerce appealed. On June 16, 1960 US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Judge Day's decision saying that a nuisance can't be a nuisance if it does not exist yet. The next day, Commerce Oil Refining Corp. announced that they were no longer interested in building their refinery in Jamestown, citing federal government cutbacks in crude oil. Attorney Moore, however pressed the appeal to the Supreme Court. Since the US Circuit Court of Appeals decision was reached unanimously, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
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Dismissed with Prejudice, Mss. Gr. 146, University of Rhode Island.
In February 2000, a book entitled Dismissed With Prejudice by Mary Stearns McGaughan and Terrence F. McGaughan was brought to the attention of the Acting Assistant Archivist, Sarina Wyant. The book chronicled the grass roots efforts to stop the construction of an oil refinery in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It was a private press publication and the Library Special Collections was interested in obtaining a copy for the Rhode Island Collection.
It was discovered that the authors were deceased. Mary Stearns McGaughan's son, David Stearns Martin, was contacted and he was delighted to provide a copy of the book. Upon discussion it was discovered that supporting documents were in Mr. Martin's possession. On March 23rd, Mr. Martin donated about 1.5' of records to Special Collections. The records consisted of paperbound court briefs, correspondence, news clippings, and membership rosters. Mr. Martin requested that copies be made of the news clippings and that he retain the originals. In addition to copying the news clippings, research copies were made of deteriorating facsimiles of court testimony dated November 4, 1957, an opinion dated February 7, 1958, and a prospectus of the Commerce Oil Refinery Corp, 1957.
The records are arraned in three series as follows:
Mary Stearns McGaughan's son, David Stearns Martin, donated the records to Special Collections in March 2000.
For a more detailed account, see
Series I contains court records of Commerce Oil Refining Corp. v. William W. Miner et al. and the counterclaim suit. There is a cover letter to Dr. Miner from Cornelius C. Moore accompanying the opinion. The records are arranged basically in chronological order.
Series II contains the correspondence of the Jamestown Protective Association (JPA), rosters, a prospectus of Commerce Oil Refinery Corp., and pamphlets. Of note (in folder 8) is a reprint from the April 1958 issue of Fortune Magazine entitled "The Battle of the Jamestown Refinery," by Samuel W. Bryant and a copy of a photograph of one of many "refinery, no" signs posted along Conanicut Island's coast for the benefit of the visiting President Eisenhower (see McGaughan, p. 66).
Series III contains copies of news clippings of the conflict and the ensuing court battle. These are copies; the originals were retained by the donor.