Crull, Turah Thurman, Stoll Oil Refinery 1937 Flood Photograph Collection

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Turah Thurman Crull

Title:  The Stoll Oil Refinery 1937 Flood Photograph Collection

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection:  16 photographs

Location Number:  986PC25

Scope and Content Note

The collection is compiled of sixteen (16) black and white photographs depicting the Great Flood of 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky. The flood was the worst in Louisville History. Most of the photographs are of the Stoll Oil Refining Company located near Shelby Street. Images include: flooded Stroll Oil warehouses, plant office, garage, cracking plant, old oil warehouse, blacksmith shop, and oil tanks. Others are images of misplaced railroad cars, houses and trolley cars. One picture is of the Big Four Bridge. It is unknown who took the photographs.

Historical Note 

Stoll Oil was founded in Louisville in 1896 by Charles Christian Stoll (1861-1943) and was one of the few successful oil companies independent of Standard Oil in Kentucky at the time. Stoll’s four sons continued to run the company after his death until it was bought by Sinclair in 1952.

Photograph List 

986PC25.1-Stoll Oil Ref Co., Jan. 1937- Flood, The Plant Office
986PC25.2- The New Garage
986PC25.3- The Cracking Plant
986PC25.4- Old Lick Oil Warehouse
986PC25.5- Blacksmith Shop
986PC25.6- Floating Tanks
986PC25.7- Tank Cars at First Street
986PC25.8- Tank Cars across River Road
986PC25.9- Shelby Street Looking toward Plant
986PC25.10- House astray at Shelby & River Road
986PC25.11- Houses on Shelby Street
986PC25.12- Big Four Bridge at Shelby Street, CEO trestle
986PC25.13- image of floating tanks
986PC25.14-These Tanks are floating off their foundations
986PC25.15- A General View of the Stoll’s Plant
986PC25.16- A Street Car Trying to get into the new Garage. LeIRR 106-110, Senior Cav. Ex Loue Eatern