September 5, 2007

The effects of the Great Depression were lessened in Union County when the Lion Oil Refining Company financed discovery wells in the late 1930s. The new wells provided many jobs for local citizens hit by the hard economic times. By 1955, approximately eight years after this photo was taken, the company employed 3,000 and sold its products in more than 2,000 service stations throughout the South. Since 1985, Lion has been an affiliate of Ergon, Inc.