Greve, Martin S.

Martin S. Greve, born near Hollister in 1884 to German immigrant pioneers Paul and Sophia Greve, was raised on a stock ranch in Monterey County’s Priest Valley. Upon reaching adulthood, he and four of his brothers jointly homesteaded tracts in Warthan Canyon, Fresno County, to establish an independent cattle-raising enterprise. Greve successfully managed his livestock holdings until 1910, when he sold his ranching interests to transition into the region’s expanding petroleum transportation industry.

Joining the Associated Pipe Line Company on the Coalinga-Monterey Division, Greve rose rapidly from the repair department to become a foreman, earning a promotion to engineer in 1916. He was placed in charge of Associated Station No. 2, an engineering facility located just miles from his original homestead property. Married to Michigan native Clara Grant, with whom he raised three daughters, Greve became a dedicated member of the Christian Science Church in Coalinga and a widely respected leader in the civic upbuilding of western Fresno County.