Another example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, perhaps the finest example I know of. This is a 1970 shot of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Texas, which is northeast of downtown Austin, about half the way to Taylor. The church still looks the same today. It was built in 1921, though the congregation itself dates back to 1876. Carpenter Gothic is a North American architectural style from the mid-to-late 19th century that adapts Gothic Revival details—pointed arches, steep gables, towers or steeples, and vertical emphasis—to modest wooden, light-frame buildings constructed by local carpenters rather than in stone. Photo courtesy the @TxHistComm

A scene somewhere in Texas circa 1920. The Magnolia Petroleum Company was founded in 1911 and eventually (in 1999) became ExxonMobil, one of the world's biggest oil companies. Of course, the story isn't as clean cut as that. It started off as Magnoilia, then became a part of Socony Vacuum, then Socony Vacuum was Mobil, then ExxonMobile. Interestingly, both Exxon and Mobil had descended from John D. Rockefeller's original Standard Oil empire, which the U.S. Supreme Court ordered broken up in 1911. And, in the way these things go, EVEN THAT is an oversimplification. Here's the timeline: 1925: Standard Oil Company of New York, commonly called SOCONY, acquired Magnolia Petroleum Company through a stock exchange. Magnolia became a subsidiary but continued operating under its own name. 1931: SOCONY merged with Vacuum Oil Company, which had been founded in 1866. The resulting company was named Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. Magnolia remained a subsidiary of this newly merged corporation. 1955: Socony-Vacuum changed its name to Socony Mobil Oil Company. Magnolia continued operating under its own corporate identity. 1959: On September 30, Magnolia Petroleum Company was formally merged into Socony Mobil Oil Company. Magnolia ceased to exist as a separate corporation, and its operations became part of Mobil Oil Company. 1966: The parent company adopted the name Mobil Oil Corporation. 1999: Mobil and Exxon merged to form ExxonMobil One last thing. You may be wondering where the name "Socony" came from. It's an acronym for Standard Oil Company of New York. Got all that? Good. You'll need to study it for the quiz. 😉😀