James Marion West Sr. (1871–1941) was a wealthy Houston, Texas (United States) businessman who substantially influenced the city's development during the early 20th century.
He came to Texas as a boy from Mississippi in 1880. He grew up in Trinity County where he built a lumber business. He married Georgian Jessie Dudlin in 1895.
He moved to Houston in 1905 and initially became involved in real estate. Over time he built a business empire that included ranching, banking, lumber, oil, and newspaper publishing. He was heavily involved in politics both in Houston and at the state level. He served as an officer and board member for various banks, universities, and other business interests. He later became a publisher of the Dallas Journal and the Austin Tribune in part because of his interest in politics. In 1938 he established the West Foundation (now the West Endowment), a local Houston charity which donates to a variety of causes.[1]
His main ranching property was the West Ranch in the Galveston Bay Area occupying what is now Clear Lake City and NASA's Johnson Space Center. His home there was one of the largest mansions in the Houston area. West sold most of the ranch to Humble Oil in 1938 after oil was found on the property and it was Humble Oil (via the Friendswood Development Company) that later created Clear Lake City.
The former town of Westville, Texas in Trinity County, originally centered around the sawmill he established with Peter Josserand, was named for him and the West Lumber Company he established there.[2]
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