Joseph T. Jones

Joseph Thomas Jones (June 11, 1842 – December 6, 1916) was an American entrepreneur who built his fortune as an oil producer. He funded construction of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad in Mississippi, co-founded the City of Gulfport and developed its seaport.

Early life Joseph T. Jones was born to Albanus A. and Jane (Thomas) Jones in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1842. He was educated at public schools, and worked in the stairbuilding trade with an uncle for two years.

Military service In 1861, at age 19, Jones enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was assigned to Company H, 91st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Jones served as Quartermaster Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, and First Lieutenant. At the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, Jones was appointed acting Captain.

In June 1864, at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Jones was wounded in both feet. He was sent home to Philadelphia to recover from his wounds and was discharged in September 1864. To move crude oil to railheads, Jones invested in oil pipelines which produced greater dividends than the oil wells. By 1883, Jones was known as the largest crude oil producer in the United States.

He married Melodia E. Blackmarr on October 15, 1876, and they had two children. he spent much of his time in south Mississippi overseeing his investments in the railroad, timber, and shipping. He had the Great Southern Hotel constructed in Gulfport to serve as his Gulf Coast residence, and nearby, an office building was constructed for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company.

Death and legacy By 1910, Jones was living with his wife and children in Buffalo, New York. He developed health problems during the last three years of his life and died on December 6, 1916, at his home in Buffalo. He was interred in the Jones Family Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery. At the time of his death, his estate was estimated to be worth 15 million dollars. Despite efforts to develop the land for other objectives, it endures as the Joseph T. Jones Memorial Park.

On January 18, 1942, a life-sized bronze statue, atop a granite monument, was dedicated in Gulfport to "the city's greatest benefactor". The statue faces the harbor that Jones built.