Wells, Francis Asbury

Francis Asbury Wells, born in Moulton, Appanoose County, Iowa, on April 3, 1873, was a prominent oilman and community leader in Coalinga, California. He was the youngest son of John D. Wells and Sarah Craig, who later relocated the family to Kansas where Francis grew up riding the range in the Cherokee Nation. Moving to Bakersfield, California, at age seventeen, he worked for the Kern County Land Company before enlisting in Company G, Sixth California Regiment during the Spanish American War. Following his military service, he entered the expanding oil industry, working his way up through various field operations in the Kern River and Midway oilfields.

In 1907, Mr. Wells relocated to Coalinga to work as a pumper for the Inca Oil Company, eventually advancing to superintendent around 1910. Beyond his industrial achievements, he married Maude Barling in Bakersfield, and together they raised three daughters named Kathleen, Nixon, and Lois. A dedicated Republican, he actively contributed to local civic progress as a trustee of the Claremont school district, a member of the Coalinga Carnegie Library board of trustees, and a key figure in building the Coalinga New High School. His life exemplifies the vital role that industrious pioneer oilmen played in shaping the economic and educational infrastructure of Fresno County.