Jesse Holman Jones (April 5, 1874June 1, 1956) was an American Democratic politician and entrepreneur from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas. Jones managed a Tennessee

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

factory at age fourteen, and at nineteen, he was put in charge of his uncle's lumberyards. Five years later, after his uncle, M. T. Jones, died, Jones moved to Houston to manage his uncle's estate and opened a

lumberyard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services suc ...

company, which grew quickly. During this period, Jesse opened his own business, the South Texas Lumber Company. He also began to expand into real estate, commercial building, and banking. His commercial building activities in Houston included mid-rise and skyscraper office buildings, hotels and apartments, and movie theaters. He constructed the Foster Building, home to the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'', in exchange for a fifty percent share in the newspaper, of which he acquired control in 1926. Jones's participation in civic life and politics began with the

Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...

and the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an in ...

. He led a group of local bankers in buying public finance bonds and was later appointed to serve as the Chair of the Houston Harbor Board. He led a local fundraising effort on behalf of the American Red Cross in support of servicemen in World War I. President Wilson tapped Jones to head a division of American Red Cross, a duty he fulfilled between 1917 and 1919. In 1928, he initiated and organized Houston's bid for the 1928 Democratic National Convention. Jones most important role was in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) (1932–1939), a federal agency originally created in the

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

administration which played a major role in combating the Great Depression and financing industrial expansion during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After Hoover first appointed Jones to the board, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

expanded the powers of the RFC and promoted Jones to the chairmanship in 1933. Jones was in charge of spending US$50 billion, especially in financing railways and building munitions factories. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce from 1940 to 1945, a post he held concurrently with his chairmanship of the RFC. With the combined authority of these various federal posts, Jones was arguably the second most powerful person in the nation, which is confirmed by Roosevelt's nickname for him, "Jesus Jones". After leaving Washington, Jesse and Mary Jones focused on philanthropy, working through the Houston Endowment, a non-profit corporation they founded in 1937. Though most of this giving was focused on Texas, some of it flowed to Tennessee and Massachusetts. Much of their philanthropy concentrated on education, including large gifts for a business school at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

and another to establish Jones College at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

. However, they also made substantial donations to hospitals and for the arts. Many buildings in Houston are named for Jesse Jones, including a music venue in

downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

known as

Jones Hall The Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Jones Hall) is a performance venue in Houston, Texas, and the permanent home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. Jones Hall is also frequently r ...

Family history and early life

Jesse H. Jones descended from Welsh ancestors who made

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

their first landing place in North America, sometime in the 1650s. After settling there briefly, they relocated to the

Chowan River The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN)
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, remaining there for at least a century. In 1774, Eli Jones and one of his brothers, headed west, eventually deciding to an area now known as Robertson County, Tennessee. William, one of Eli's sons, established himself as a farmer there, and married a neighboring farmer's daughter, Laura Anna Holman. The farm was sufficient to provide for all of the needs of the family and grow tobacco for sale, partly from their own efforts, and partly from the work of enslaved persons.Fenberg (2011), pp. 78. Jesse Holman Jones was born to William and Laura Jones on April 5, 1874, the fourth of five children. Jesse's mother died on April 22, 1880, just after he had turned six. Nancy Jones Hurt, his aunt, moved in with the family along with her two sons. She was a "guide, physician, and clothes-maker of all the Jones children," and "a famous cook". Sudley Place was his childhood home. In 1883, the Jones family, including Aunt Nancy and seven children moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, partly in order for William to join his brother Martin Tilton "M.T." Jones in his successful lumber enterprise. Several years earlier M.T. had resettled his family in

Terrell, Texas Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 17,465. Terrell is located about east of Dallas. History Terrell developed as a railroad town, beginning in 1873 with construction here ...

after a stop in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Aunt Nancy remained in Dallas and enrolled the children in local public schools, while William moved to Terrell to manage the M.T. Jones Lumber Company and look after the firm's other lumberyards in northeast Texas. This allowed M.T. to move closer to his timberlands and other interests in southeast Texas. However, William only stayed for two years and returned with his large family to Robertson County, where he acquired a new farm to work. So Jesse was back in Tennessee at the age of twelve. The new estate of William Jones included 600 acres, and the patriarch built a spacious brick house with ten rooms to accommodate his large family. According to one biographer, this house was "the finest outside of Nashville."Buenger (2003), p. 67. Later in life, Jesse recollected that the family farm was bountiful, providing enough meat and produce to leave a surplus through all seasons. They even shared food with less fortunate neighbors who struggled during the winter months, Jones recalled. Jesse had been a diligent worker as a boy, caring for the farm animals, and performing many common household chores. During the summers when his family had lived in Dallaswhen he was a young teenagerhe hacked out weeds, picked cotton, and herded cattle. He did not display the same diligence for school, and later, Jesse recalled many scoldings and punishments from his teachers. His father challenged his two sons with a tobacco plot for each of them. He allotted three acres to each son and provided them both with supplies. Each of them would be allowed to keep any profits after they repaid their store accounts. He applied this experience to a job in the tobacco industry when he quit school after the eighth grade. William Jones not only grew tobacco, but also traded the crop, and he also joined a partnership, Jones, Holman and Armstrong, which processed tobacco. William put Jesse in charge of one of the tobacco factories. He was responsible for receiving (or sometimes rejecting), classifying, warehousing, and shipping tobacco. In addition, his name was on the company bank account, and he signed checks for the company's operations. At the age of seventeen, Jesse and his family returned to Dallas. After several attempts to find a suitable job in Dallas and the surrounding region, Jesse started working in

Hillsboro, Texas Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Hill County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. History Hillsboro was named for Hill County. At one point during Bonnie and Clyde's robberies in Hillsboro, they ...

, at one of his uncle's lumberyards. He performed manual labor, but also served the office side of the business, such as bookkeeping and debt collection. Despite these varied duties, he earned the standard salary for a salesman: $40 per month. He requested a fifty percent raise, arguing that he worked day and night. His uncle refused. Jesse quit not long before the death of his father, William Jones. The will instructed that trustees manage the tobacco enterprise, while Jesse would assume control at age twenty-one. He also inherited about $2,000 in stock.

Business activities

Timber and lumber

Main Street from the Main and Martin Street Intersection (16202709548)

Jesse and his brother liquidated the tobacco inventory from their father's estate and spent the proceeds on their sisters' homes. Jesse returned to Dallas and applied for a position with the M.T. Jones Lumber Company's downtown yard on Main Street and St. Paul. M. T. refused to hire him, leading Jones to wonder if his former supervisor in Hillsboro had reported unfavorably on him. An investigation of the Hillsboro yard, however, revealed that its manager had committed fraud. The general manager of the company, C. T. Harris, fired that manager and hired Jesse as bookkeeper for the big Dallas yard. Initially, Jesse earned a salary of $15 per weekmore than he made at the Hillsboro yard. After just six months, Harris made Jesse the manager there, raising his salary to $100 per month (). Harris made these decisions without consulting M.T., the owner of the company. Jesse ran the Dallas yard profitably, even in the face of eight competitors in the local market. In 1895, with M.T. still critical of the Dallas operations, Jesse tendered his resignation. However, M.T. audited the books of the Dallas yard and found them to be in good order. M.T. asked Jesse to retract his resignation. Jesse replied that he would take his old job back for $150 per week and six percent of the profits. M.T. agreed to Jesse's terms. While Jesse was still managing a lumber yard in Dallas for M.T. Jones, he decided on a financial gambit while competing for the lumber trade related to the 1897

Texas State Fair The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

in Dallas. The association running the State Fair needed construction supplies for buildings and exhibits, but the lumber companies wanted personal guarantees from the directors. Jesse, sensing an opportunity, decided to stand out from his competitors: he extended credit to the State Fair Association, with only the backing of gate receipts. When M.T. found out about the terms of the loans and the full extent of Jesse's gamble, he began to investigate Jesse's activities and interrogated him about his decision. These loans were repaid quickly and the Dallas lumber yard profited from the play. Despite these confrontations between M.T. and Jesse, by 1898, it was apparent that Jesse had earned his uncle's trust. M.T. died that year and his will named Jesse as general manager of his substantial lumber business. The will also designated Jesse as one of five executors of his estate. He arrived in Houston in 1898, renting a room at the old Rice Hotel for $2.25 per night (). He was then responsible for the business affairs of his Aunt Louisa and his three cousins. Jesse managed a large estate:Fenberg (2011), p. 37.

He was now in charge of tens of thousands of acres of timberland spread over three east Texas counties and parts of Louisiana. The estate owned and operated sawmills and factories in Orange that had the daily capacity to turn hundreds of thousands of feet of raw timber into shingles, doors, windows sashes, and two-by-fours. The logistics was equally huge: felled trees had to be moved to plants, and finished products had to be delivered to lumberyards located throughout the state and beyond. With assistance and advice from trustees, Jones bought, sold, and managed the land, expanding the M.T. Jones Lumber Company even further.

In 1902, Jones started the South Texas Lumber Company. He had money he had earned from selling investments in timber and some Spindletop deals for capital. He acquired the Reynolds Lumber Company, as well as many other lumberyards in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company charter announced an intention to purchase raw goods (lumber), semi-finished goods (cross ties), and milled goods, such as blinds, doors, and sash. According to his own recollection, he made about $1 million in profits when he sold controlling interest in the company, liquidating most of his interests in one saw mill and perhaps 20 or more lumberyards. Other than retaining a single lumberyard, he permanently left active management of the timber and lumber business in 1911 or 1912.

Construction and real estate

Jones began a flurry of building activity in 1906. He contracted to build an addition to the Bristol Hotel, committing $90,000 () to the project, which would include a rooftop garden and dance floor. He also commissioned a ten-story building for the Texas Company (Texaco), and the company moved its headquarters to Houston. The same year, he constructed a new plant for the rapidly growing ''Houston Chronicle'' in exchange for a half-interest in the company, which had been solely owned by Marcellus Foster. In 1911, Jones purchased the original five-story Rice Hotel from Rice University although the university retained the land on which it stood. Working with Captain James A. Baker, the president of Rice Institute's Board of Trustees, he razed the original structures and constructed the seventeen-story building, which he then leased from Rice. The new

Rice Hotel The Rice, formerly the Rice Hotel, is an historic building at 909 Texas Avenue in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The current building is the third to occupy the site. It was completed in 1913 on the site of the former Capitol buildin ...

leased 500 rooms, and was the center of Houston social life. After concluding his service with the Red Cross, Jones returned to Houston and resumed his business activities. He amassed lots along the Main Street corridor in downtown Houston, acquired a tract on Elm Street in Dallas, and also invested in Fort Worth. In 1921, he expanded one downtown Houston structure into the Bankers Mortgage Building, while laying out plans for two more ten-story buildings. During this time he continued a collaboration with local architect

Alfred C. Finn Alfred Charles Finn (July 2, 1883 – June 26, 1964) was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. H ...

, with whom he had first worked on the Rice Hotel. Jones juggled his Houston program with a development initiative in New York City, and he built the Melba Theater in Dallas. In the mid-1920s, Jones increased his construction and development activity. Two new buildings, the Kirby Theater and the Kirby Lumber Company Building went up on Main Street, while he built additions to the Rice Hotel and the Houston Electric Building. During the same period he started projects in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The first was an apartment building on 1158 Fifth Avenue at 97th Street, followed by the Mayfair House on Park Avenue at 67th Street. A third building at

200 Madison Avenue 200 Madison Avenue (also known as the Marshall Field Building, Astor Estate Building, International Combustion Building, and Tower Building) is a 25-story office building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is alon ...

faced J.P. Morgan's home, with four floors leased to the first

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

store in New York City. Jones also left his mark on Fort Worth, building the Medical Arts Building, and the Worth Hotel and Worth Theater.Fenberg (2011), pp. 125127. In addition to his real estate and political activity associated with Houston's Democratic National Convention, Jones continued multiple development projects in 1928 in other cities. He commissioned an eighteen-story, mixed-use building in downtown Fort Worth, leasing the storefront and two more floors to the Fair Department Store. He sited a sixteen-story medical office building on 61st Street as just one of his projects in New York. Back in Houston, several projects were under construction with no connection to the convention. Jones broke ground on the Gulf Building that year, while completing the Levy Brothers Department Store. The Gulf Building was completed the next year as the tallest structure in Houston, a distinction it held until 1963. He finished another retail building on Main Street, a four-story store for Krupp and Tuffly Shoes. He acquired his fourth hotel, a distressed sixteen-story building which he re-branded as the Texas State Hotel. Jones built in New York a 44-story office tower at 275 Madison Avenue and 40th Street, his largest project to date. He completed it in the spring prior to the

Stock Market Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

.Fenberg (2011), pp. 169173.

Banking

National Bank of Commerce 3Oct18 Bank advertisement, Houston, Texas

As a young man, Jones found opportunities to borrow money in order to establish credit. He borrowed in excess of his need, and kept the extra cash in a savings account. However, at least two Houston bankers expressed concerns about his borrowing practices. By his own estimate, he had borrowed as much as $3 million (). The test came with the Panic of 1907. One of the largest and oldest of Houston's banks, the T. W. House Bank, failed amidst this economic recession. The bank had a $500,000 () loan on its books in the name of Jesse Jones. Yet even during the bank panic, Jones was able to sell enough mortgage paper and draw on enough credit from other banks to repay the loan. So he stood ready to make new investments after the worst of the recession ended. Sometime after 1908, Jones organized the Texas Trust Company. By 1912, he had become president of Houston's National Bank of Commerce. This bank later merged with Texas National Bank in 1964 to become the Texas National Bank of Commerce, renamed to Texas Commerce Bank which grew into a major regional financial institution. It became part of JP Morgan Chase & Co. in 2008. In 1931 two local banks were in danger of failing. Public National Bank faced a clientele demanding cash and Houston National Bank had too many distressed loans. Public National Bank had barely enough cash on hand to last through Saturday, October 24. The next day, Jones hosted a meeting of local bankers at his office in the new Gulf Building. He urged his banking colleagues to assist in stabilizing the two distressed banks to prevent a general panic among local depositors. Jones proposed a bailout plan of $1.25 million () to guarantee local deposits at risk, with the political support of a major local bank investor, James A. Baker. Despite a faction of bankers who wanted to let the two banks fail, Jones and Baker prevailed, with Jones buying out Public National Bank, Joseph Meyers Interests buying out Houston National Bank, and a consortium of banks and utility companies all contributing to the bailout fund. Customers of Public National Bank gained access to their accounts on October 26.

Publishing

Jones acquired his fifty-percent interest in the ''Houston Chronicle'' from Marcellus Elliot Foster in August 1906. Though Foster was the paper's editor, Jones's engagement in the paper's positions was evident by the letters between the two men. For example, Jones supported Foster's public opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, which had been a growing movement in Texas after World War I. Foster stressed his editorial independence, while Jones vowed that he was willing to risk financial loss and personal safety to side against the KKK. This relationship became strained in 1925 when Jones voiced his opposition to Foster's support of Miriam Ferguson for governor of Texas. They were in agreement with her strong stance against the Klan, but Jones refused to support her candidacy because of the corruption of her husband during his tenure as governor. In 1926, Jones became the sole owner of the ''Houston Chronicle'' and named himself as publisher. At the time of the purchase, the paper had a daily readership of 75,000 and the company was valued at $2.5 million (). When Jones opened the Gulf Building in Houston, his ownership of the ''Houston Chronicle'' facilitated publication of a 48-page special insert dedicated to his new skyscraper. In March 1930, Jones acquired a radio station and began broadcasting in Houston from the Rice Hotel. The call letters of the station, KTRH, used three letters as an acronym for The Rice Hotel.Fenberg (2011), p. 181. KTRH broadcast some content of the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, making it the second radio station in Houston to air national programs. Jones established the station to support the ''Houston Chronicle'', which had already seen the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the '' Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston ...

'' establish a radio affiliate, KPRC.

Political activities

Houston Ship Channel

Cotton on the Ship Channel, Houston, Texas (1914)

Jones helped to secure funding for the

. When bond sales for the Harris County Houston Ship Channel District lagged, he met with Houston bankers and extracted a pledge from each one to buy the district's bonds proportionate to their market capitalizations. He was appointed as chair of the new Houston Harbor Board in 1913 by Mayor Ben Campbell. Jones accepted this post after rejecting several offers from the

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

Administration the same year.

Edward Mandell House Edward Mandell House (July 26, 1858 – March 28, 1938) was an American diplomat, and an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson. He was known as Colonel House, although his rank was honorary and he had performed no military service. He was a highl ...

, who advocated Wilson's nomination for the Democratic Party the previous year, suggested Jones for service to the new US President. The Wilson Administration offered positions to Jones such as the Undersecretary of the Treasury, two ambassadorships, and most notably, Secretary of Commerce. Jones confronted Mayor Campbell and other interests in regard to a wharf at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, which was at that time outside the city limits. Campbell advocated spending $300,000 of Houston Harbor District revenue to construct a wharf for a local cement manufacturer. Jones opposed this expenditure, and resigned from the board with other directors when the city approved the project.

American Red Cross

From 1917 until the end of World War II, Jones dedicated his activities to the nation, spending more time in the federal capital than in his home town. He responded to World War I demands by leading a fundraising effort in Houston for the American Red Cross. Sixteen of his friends accepted his challenge to donate $5,000 each (), spurring the local effort to meet and exceed its fundraising quota. President Wilson asked Jones to become director general of military relief for the American Red Cross during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a position he held until 1919. During his first post in Washington, D.C., his department was responsible for seven hundred Red Cross canteens and 55,000 volunteers, organization and transportation of mobile hospitals to England and France, and distribution of clothing to persons in war-torn Europe, and tendering financial assistance to families of American servicemen., Jones worked in an office building facing the White House, and eventually he had personal access to the President. During the coordination of Red Cross parades in various American cities, he asked that the President make a speech on the day of the parade in New York City to support fundraising efforts. Wilson was reticent and had not made an oral public address since his declaration of war against Germany. Jones, per Wilson's request, appointed Cleveland Dodge as the presiding officer of the event, though Jones also directed Dodge to choose a venue suitable for a presidential address. On the day of the parade, President Wilson made an impromptu speech to a full Metropolitan Opera House, which included his justification for war against Germany, lauded the work of the American Red Cross, admonished Wall Street bankers against wartime profiteering, and offered an entreaty to Americans to donate money to the Red Cross.

1928 Democratic National Convention

On his own initiative, Jones tendered a $200,000 bid () to bring the

1928 Democratic National Convention The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. Keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for pre ...

to Houston. Other cities matched or exceeded this amount, but Jones vowed that Houston would beat the others in hospitality. When Jones returned to Texas from Washington, D.C., where he had been negotiating, local greeters mobbed the train depots in

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greater ...

and Conroe, with a few brandishing "Jesse Jones for President" signs. At

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

, 50,000 Houstonians staged a homecoming for Jones, replete with marching bands, bunting, and banners. They staged a parade from Union Station to the Jones home at the Lamar Hotel. This hero's welcome preceded the decision by the Democratic Convention to select a site, though

Walter Lippman Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

and the ''New York Evening Post'' predicted that Houston would be chosen.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

After

President Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Grea ...

signed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) bill in 1932, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

chose Jones as one of the three to serve on its first board of directors, and managed Defense Plant Corporation. When Hoover sought advice from ranking Democrats about candidates for the board, Jones was the sole recommendation of House Speaker John Nance Garner. The Hoover RFC was an ambitious program. Upon opening, the RFC had 300 staff positions available. Soon it conveyed hundreds of millions in loans, including $300 million () to the railroads, $90 million to prop up the Chicago bank of Charles Dawes, and $65 million to Bank of America. However, Hoover sold the RFC as a program to assist smaller institutions. Bank of America retired its loan with the RFC, paying interest and principal within two years. Other loans were not successful. Jones opposed a loan to the Missouri Pacific, concerned that the taxpayers would be stuck with their bill. Without Jones's support, the RFC board approved $23 million for the railroad, but it did not prevent the company from failing the next year. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made him the Chairman of the RFC, while also expanding the RFC's powers to make loans and bail out banks. This led some to refer to Jones as "the fourth branch of government." The next year, Congress issued an additional $850 in loans, after which President Roosevelt intimated to Jones that he would have the authority to invest the new appropriations and reinvest revenue from loan repayments. Jones criticized Hoover's execution of the RFC as too little and too late. Congress and the new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, created a new Emergency Banking Act on March 9, 1933. President Roosevelt announced a "bank holiday," a moratorium on banking activity while federal bank inspectors examined the books in order to determine which financial institutions were viable. After the bank holiday, all financially sound banks would resume business. For persons who were unable to access their accounts, another part of the act authorized the executive branch to reorganize failed banks in order to free up frozen assets. The RFC was empowered to invest financial institution through their preferred stocks. Seventy percent of America's banks reopened after just six days. Jones's task as the new chair of the RFC was to reopen another 2,000 banks. He began with the reorganization of two of Detroit's largest banks by collaborating with Alfred P. Sloan of General Motors. They formed a new bank with matching investments from the RFC and General Motors, but more significantly, the RFC covered the deposits of the 800,000 frozen accounts from both failed banks with a loan of $230 million (). In the first three years of the Roosevelt Administration, the RFC had issued $8 billion in loans; however, these outflows were offset by $3.5 billion in revenues, including interest payments and repayments of principal. In 1939, Roosevelt appointed Jones to be the new Federal Loan Administrator while taking away his title as RFC chair.

Secretary of Commerce

President

offered Jones the position of

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

, but Jones decided instead to remain in Houston and focus on his businesses. He accepted the same position from President

in 1940, and he served until 1945. However, according to Stephen Fenberg, Roosevelt offered him the cabinet position to bring him closer to the White House and rein in his power. This tactic did not work because Jones accepted the new post while retaining his old job as Federal Loan Administrator. Jones was also on a short list to serve as Roosevelt's running mate in 1940. Though the nomination for the vice-presidency had been decided by the Democratic convention delegates in previous election cycles, the decisions at the 1940 convention in Chicago were being manipulated by the President. Roosevelt rejected Jones as a running mate because he considered him to be too conservative to properly serve his agenda.

Exit from Washington

Henry Wallace was dropped from the ticket as Vice President in 1944. Roosevelt was reelected and asked Jones to resign as Secretary of Commerce, which he did on January 21, 1945. The next day he resigned from RFC and all other government positions. Jones released the two letters to several newspapers, including ''The New York Times''. The letters criticized Roosevelt's decision to name Wallace as Secretary of Commerce. Senator Josiah Bailey of North Carolina called both Jones and Wallace to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, each on consecutive days. Jones testified on the first day that he did not believe that Wallace was a suitable candidate. He characterized Wallace as a visionary who lacked business experience. Sometime during the five hours of testimony the next day, Wallace touted his own business experience, but sought to restrict the scope of power from the Commerce Department and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which he claimed were exploited by business interests. Steven Fenberg, the author of the most recent biography of Jones, characterized him as the second most powerful person in America next to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who sometimes called him "Jesus Jones."

Zoning proponent

Jones returned to Houston early in 1948. In January, he had already found a new political project, and used his ''Houston Chronicle'' as a platform. He expressed concern about "undesirable ommercialencroachments" and advocated for land use zoning as a method for protecting residential areas.

Hugh Roy Cullen Hugh Roy Cullen (July 3, 1881 – July 4, 1957) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry having struck oil near Texas in 1928. He was a large supporter of multiple educational institu ...

led the effort to prevent new zoning regulation for land development in the city of Houston. This was in response to Jones and other zoning advocates in Houston. Cullen believed zoning regulations to be socialist and un-American. Though Jones attracted attention to the zoning issue, his involvement started very late in the struggle, as he published his first opinion in the ''Houston Chronicle'' less than two weeks before the vote. Jones published Cullen's opinion opposing zoning in Houston. He accused Jones of being an outsider because Jones had lived away from Houston for twenty-five or thirty years. In addition, he charged Jones with trying to run the city with the "assistance of New York Jews,"Fenberg (2011), p. 544. and vowed to resign his chair at the Board of Regents at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. Jones published Cullen's commentary and his own response to it in the ''Houston Chronicle'' two days before the zoning vote. Jones wrote that many other American cities had zoning in rebuttal to Cullen's claim that zoning was "un-American and German." Houston voted against zoning and Cullen never followed through on his threat to quit his leadership positions at non-profits.

Suite 8F Group

Jones was associated with a group of Houston political and social leaders known as the ''Suite 8F Group'', named for the apartment number at the Lamar Hotel maintained by George and Herman Brown. Jones owned the hotel and resided in the building's penthouse, upstairs from the Browns' suite. The principal members of this group were James Abercrombie, the Brown brothers, Judge James Elkins,

Oveta Culp Hobby Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American politician and businessperson who served as the first United States secretary of health, education, and welfare from 1953 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, Hobby wa ...

, William P. Hobby, Robert E. Smith, and

Gus Wortham Gus Sessions Wortham (February 18, 1891 – September 1, 1976), was a businessman and civic leader in Houston, Texas. Biography He was born on February 18, 1891, in Mexia, Texas, to John Lee Wortham and Fannie Sessions. He moved with his fathe ...

. Historian Joseph Pratt characterized Jones as "the godfather" of the group. The Suite 8F Group began their activities after World War II.

Philanthropy and non-profits

Prior to 1937, Jesse and Mary Jones had given about $1 million to charitable causes. In 1937, they established the Houston Endowment to organize their philanthropic endeavors. Their Commerce Company was already established as a conglomeration of most of the family business interests. They granted about a third of the company's shares to the Houston Endowment, while appointing Milton Backlund, Fred Heyne, and W. W. Moore as the first trustees. During the first seven years, Houston Endowment focused its donations on education. From 1932, Jones had not cashed any paychecks he earned through his various federal government positions through 1945. In 1946, he signed them all over to the Houston Endowment. At the same time Jones and his wife worked through the Houston Endowment to give this money away, much of it with a focus on education. Through the Houston Endowment, they made a $300,000 grant to the University of Virginia in honor of Woodrow Wilson. They established scholarship funds for the Texas State College for Women, Prairie View A & M University, the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, and

Texas A & M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

. Later they created an engineering scholarship at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

honoring Bill Knudsen and an economics scholarship at

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. They also made large gifts to the American Red Cross, the Houston Community Chest, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and the United Jewish Appeal. In 1946, Jones joined the Board of Trustees of the Texas Medical Center. In 1956, the Jesse Holman Jones Hospital was built in

Springfield, Tennessee Springfield is a city in and the county seat of Robertson County, which is located in Middle Tennessee on the northern border of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 18,782. Geography Springfield is located at (36.499508, ...

to replace the original hospital there. Jones made a gift of $1 million to Rice University to establish Jones College, which opened in 1957. The name for the all-women's dormitories honored Mary Gibbs Jones.

Honors

The 1902 Notsuoh Festival (Houston spelled backwards) elected Jones as its King Nottoc (cotton spelled backwards). His duty was to rule over the Tekram (market) of Saxet (Texas). This was a gag repeated in Houston from 1899 to 1915, and the week-long festival included dances and parades. The crowning of Jones as King Nottoc after living in Houston for just four years symbolized a quick acceptance into local society. In 1925, Jones received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

, and another from

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia. History Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...

in 1941. Houston honored Jones with "Jesse H. Jones Day" on December 26, 1934. The pronouncement was made by Houston Mayor Oscar Holcombe. The Scottish Rite Temple provided the venue for a ceremony, where there was the first public viewing of a bronze bust of Jones sculpted by

Enrico Cerracchio Enrico Cerracchio (March 14, 1880 – March 20, 1956) was an Italian-born American sculptor and painter. He designed many statues, including the 1925 Sam Houston Monument in Houston, Texas. Early life Cerracchio was born on March 14, 1880, in ...

. In 1939, the Alabama-Coushatta tribe named Jones ''Chief Cue-ya-la-na'' when they accepted him into their community. The name translates as "Yellow Pine," symbolic of the tallest being within their local environment and a being which serves all members of their community.

Personal life

Jones resided at the Rice Hotel in Houston, but he also stayed at "the Boarding House," the home of his aunt, Louisa Jones. Her house was located at the corner of Anita and Main Street, south of downtown Houston. Jones managed the estate of his uncle, M. T. Jones, and continued to act as a business manager for his aunt and his cousins for many years. Much of his social life revolved around them, too. His future wife, Mary Gibbs Jones, was first married to his cousin, Will Jones. Jones married Mary Gibbs on December 15, 1920. They resided at the Rice Hotel until 1926 when they moved into their penthouse at the new Lamar Hotel. Alfred C. Finn designed and supervised the construction of the building, but Jones hired

John Staub John Fanz Staub (September 12, 1892 – April 13, 1981) was a residential architect who designed numerous traditionally-styled homes and mansions, mostly in Houston, Texas, from the 1920s to 1960s. Early life John F. Staub was born on September ...

to design the interior for their apartment. Audrey Jones, one of Mary's granddaughters, also lived with them. Other members of his extended family maintained apartments at the Lamar. His relationships with some of his business associates were also based on close friendships, so Jones referred to this business network as his "business family."

Death and legacy

Jones retained the title of publisher of the ''

'' until his death on June 1, 1956, at the age of 82. His remains were interred in Houston's Forest Park Cemetery. The name of Jesse H. Jones is memorialized throughout Houston through many grants from the Houston Endowment. The home of the Houston Symphony is Jesse H.

in the

Houston Theater District The Houston Theater District, a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States, is home to Houston's nine professional performing arts organizations, the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and ...

founded the Jesse H. Jones School of Business in 1955. After Jones's death the Houston Endowment made donations to Rice University. They established the Jesse H. Jones Chair of Management, and in the 1970s, they granted $10 million to start the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. The Jesse H. Jones Student Life Center, a recreation facility at the

University of Houston–Downtown The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) is a public university in Houston, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System and has a campus that spans in Downtown Houston with a satellite location, UHD-Northwest in Harris County. Fo ...

, was fully funded by the Houston Endowment.

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

's central libraries includes the Jesse H. Jones Library. The Jesse H. Jones Physical Education Complex on the campus of

Texas Lutheran University Texas Lutheran University (TLU) is a private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America university in Seguin, Texas. History The university traces its roots back to 1891, to an academy of the first German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas, in Br ...

in Seguin bears his name. Jones contributed money to the Houston Academy of Medicine/Texas Medical Center for a new home for its library. This building is known as the Jesse H. Jones Library Building. The Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones Pavilion (1977) connects

Memorial Hermann Memorial Hermann Health System is the largest not-for-profit health system in southeast Texas and consists of 17 hospitals, 8 Cancer Centers, 3 Heart & Vascular Institutes, and 27 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, in addition to other ...

Hospital to the University of Texas Medical School. Other Jones buildings include the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 1 ...

's Central Library building and the Great Jones Building, the former home of

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...

and briefly the location of Jones's office. Beyond buildings, one may visit the Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center in Humble. Since 1998, the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston has presented the Jesse H. Jones Award.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Guide to the Jesse H. Jones Family and Personal Papers, 1841-2000
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library,

, Houston, Texas) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jesse H. 1874 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Houston People from Robertson County, Tennessee Reconstruction Finance Corporation United States Secretaries of Commerce 1940 United States vice-presidential candidates Houston Chronicle people Franklin D. Roosevelt administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians People from Terrell, Texas American bankers Real estate and property developers Timber industry American Red Cross personnel Businesspeople from Dallas American philanthropists American hoteliers Texas Democrats American newspaper publishers (people)