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223:, and his success there was one of the most remarkable on record. He organized several companies and financed many of them himself. As well as holding other positions in other companies, O'Donnell held presidencies in the Whittier Consolidated Oil Company, Midland Oil Fields Company, Four Oil Company, Section One Oil Company, Circle Oil Company, Maricopa Star Oil Company, California Star Oil Company, Buena Fe Petroleum and Salvia Oil Company.
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where he met Edward L. Doheny, a wealthy pioneer in the development of oil in
California. Working as a field superintendent for Doheny for about a year, O'Donnell too saw the promise that the oil fields held and decided to go into business for himself forming a partnership drilling oil wells with Max
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The O'Donnell Golf Club was built in Palm
Springs in the mid-1920s. He purchased the land in 1925 upon which the O'Donnell Course is now built, as well as seven hundred fifty shares of Whitewater Mutual Water Company and helped it bring fresh water through a pipeline fourteen miles (23 km) from
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in the early 1920s seeking relief from a respiratory condition. On 14.96 acres (60,500 m) of leased land from Nellie
Coffman, owner of the Desert Inn, he constructed the 4,100-square-foot (380 m) home which would become the O'Donnell House – also known as "Ojo del Desierto", or Eye of the
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When Doheny became interested in
Mexican oil holdings in 1907, O'Donnell handled his interests in California and helped form the American Petroleum Company, followed by the American Oil Fields Company, holding the positions of vice-president and field manager of both companies. At the time, the two
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In the following years O'Donnell built the golf course, and for the next fifteen years he operated it at his own expense before, in 1944 he organized the O'Donnell Golf Club as a private, non-profit club. He gave the club a ninety-nine year lease for the golf course, the reservoir property and the
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Dozens of benefactions and philanthropies can be attributed to O'Donnell, but probably biggest among these are his making possible, through his financial assistance, the
Welwood Memorial Library, the Public Health Center, Welfare and Friendly Aid and the public address system on the mountainside
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For fifteen years, O'Donnell and his wife, Winifred, spent their winters at the O'Donnell House. O'Donnell's heart condition prevented him from using the stairs, so he decided to build a smaller, one story house on the nearby golf course which O'Donnell built with
Captain J. F. Lucey. This house
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in
Washington, D.C.. Willis was considered to be one of the most prominent osteopaths in Southern California and a leader in that profession in all the country. Willis was born in New York and married William E. Jenney, a successful dentist, in 1900 and moving to California in 1916. Winifred and
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O'Donnell met
Lillian Constance Wood, a native of California, and married her in 1897. They had two daughters, Ruth O'Donnell Davis (October 24, 1898 – January 28, 1985) and Doris O'Donnell Connolly (January 5, 1901 – 1977). Lillian and O'Donnell divorced in 1924 and a property settlement of $
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344:, which also acted as a desalting basin, through which Whitewater Mutual routed its pipeline to the area that was to become the golf course. O'Donnell was one of the five incorporators of Whitewater Mutual Water Company, which was incorporated on May 5, 1927.
261:, the largest national trade association representing the industry, serving from 1919 – 1924. He was also influential in forming the Independent Oil Producers Association and served as a member of the executive board. O'Donnell held directorships at the
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After suffering a heart attack in 1941 during an influenza siege, O'Donnell died of a related heart ailment at the
Wilshire Hospital in Los Angeles on February 21, 1945, at the age 74. Before passing he wrote
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In 1912, the two companies merged into the
California Petroleum Corporation, known as CALPET. O'Donnell served as president and board chairman of CALPET until it was sold to the Texas Company (later known as
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to Thomas O'Donnell and Myra Parsons,. He was of Irish descent. While still living in McKean Township he worked for some time as a newsboy until the age 12 when he left Pennsylvania and arrived in
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H. Whittier. The partnership with Whittier lasted for five years, at the end of which, O'Donnell decided to continue alone becoming an independent driller, operator and oil land speculator.
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and for the next five years, with pick and shovel, became a very experienced miner by the age of 19. In 1889 he gave up mining and headed to California where he obtained a position at the
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and Sierra Madre Club, both of Los Angeles, and the Growler's Club of Coalinga. O'Donnell was also president of the O'Donnell Golf Club from 1944 until his death in 1945.
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Desert. The "California Spanish"-style O'Donnell House was designed by W. C. Tanner and remained the highest mountainside home in Palm Springs for more than forty years.
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246:, O'Donnell served with the Fuel Conservation Board and became national director of oil production for the
468:, San Francisco, California: California Division of Mines, 1916–1917, pp. 247–249, 258–259, 261, 266
393:. Services were also held at the same time in Palm Springs near the entrance of the O'Donnell Golf Club.
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O'Donnell bought property at the corner of Stevens Road and North Palm Canyon Drive and built a
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and a number of other Doheny oil companies. He also headed several committees including one to
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controlling wide areas of the best oil lands in the most productive districts of California.
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Whitewater Canyon to the desert before anyone knew there was water under Palm Springs.
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A year later he married Dr. Winifred Willis (November 5, 1880 – January 24, 1969), a
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With his ambitions extending beyond the grocery store, O'Donnell went to work in a
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682:"T.A O'Donnell, Oil Man Dies. One of "Big 4" with Doheny, Canfield and Whittier",
501:"Wilson to Aid Oil Men. Will Now Seek Protection for Their Interests at Tampico",
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250:. Upon his departure, O'Donnell received a letter and check for one dollar from
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First Annual Report of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor of California
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153:(June 26, 1870 – February 21, 1945), was an American pioneer in the
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remaining there for four years where he mastered the oil business.
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Niemann, Greg (2006), "Ch. 22: The Desert's Premier Golf Course",
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415:"Palm Springs Suffers Irreparable Loss in Death of Benefactor",
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would later become the clubhouse for the O'Donnell Golf Club.
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companies were among the largest independent concerns in the
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seven hundred fifty shares of the Whitewater Mutual stock.
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A aerial view of the O'Donnell Golf Club in Palm Springs
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750,000 in cash and security was approved by the court.
595:"Nellie Coffman's hospitality helped Palm Springs grow"
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above his home at the edge of the O'Donnell Golf Club.
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O'Donnell Golf Club: Jewel of the Desert for 65 Years
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524:, Los Angeles, California, p. 12, July 28, 1897
445:Press Reference Library: Notables of the Southwest
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360:As of 1912, O'Donnell was a Thirty-second Degree
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554:Palm Springs Legends: creation of a desert oasis
484:"Thomas A. O'Donnell, Petroleum Leader, 74",
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219:In 1902, O'Donnell entered the oil fields in
211:Leaving Union Oil in 1893, O'Donnell went to
767:Businesspeople from Palm Springs, California
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257:O'Donnell became the first president of the
752:American businesspeople in the oil industry
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708:"O'Donnell House – Palm Springs Week (36)"
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32:Thomas A. O'Donnell – Oil magnate (1912)
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762:People from Erie County, Pennsylvania
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308:William were later divorced in 1924.
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172:who became known as the "big four."
263:Farmers and Merchants National Bank
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535:"Divorces Head of Oil Institute",
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248:United States Fuel Administration
182:McKean, Erie County, Pennsylvania
56:McKean, Erie County, Pennsylvania
777:People from Coalinga, California
757:American people of Irish descent
772:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
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593:Brown, Renee (March 28, 2015).
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637:Dean, Terry; Dickinson, Judy,
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626:, The Willows Palm Spring Inn
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372:. He held memberships in the
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259:American Petroleum Institute
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581:here for Table of Contents
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267:Mexican Petroleum Company
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318:Palm Springs, California
723:Thomas Arthur O'Donnell
151:Thomas Arthur O'Donnell
75:Los Angeles, California
42:Thomas Arthur O'Donnell
706:(September 27, 2002).
356:Fraternities and clubs
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180:O'Donnell was born in
130:Lillian Constance Wood
718:Huell Howser Archive.
671:, O'Donnell Golf Club
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685:Los Angeles Examiner
668:Palm Springs History
558:Sunbelt Publications
450:Los Angeles Examiner
221:Coalinga, California
623:The O'Donnell House
541:, November 27, 1924
518:"Licensed to Wed",
490:, February 22, 1945
452:, 1912, p. 456
166:Charles A. Canfield
133:Dr. Winifred Willis
20:Thomas A. O'Donnell
716:Chapman University
538:The New York Times
504:The New York Times
487:The New York Times
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316:O'Donnell went to
186:Florence, Colorado
712:California's Gold
567:978-0-932653-74-1
556:, San Diego, CA:
521:Los Angeles Times
252:Harry A. Garfield
197:Union Oil Company
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67:February 21, 1945
52:December 26, 1870
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69:(1945-02-21)
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280:during the
244:World War I
213:Los Angeles
160:along with
110:Businessman
83:Nationality
736:Categories
397:References
298:Long Beach
176:Early life
155:California
48:1870-12-26
647:810251995
342:reservoir
303:, in the
301:osteopath
193:gold mine
576:61211290
141:Children
605:Gannett
368:and an
242:During
124:Spouses
106:Driller
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288:Family
237:Texaco
207:Career
98:Tycoon
387:finis
380:Death
362:Mason
102:Miner
643:OCLC
572:OCLC
562:ISBN
364:, a
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96:Oil
77:, US
64:Died
58:, US
38:Born
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