Baker International

Reuben Carlton "Carl" Baker, Sr. (July 18, 1872 – September 29, 1957) was an American oil industry drilling pioneer. He established the forerunner of Baker International (ultimately Baker Hughes) in 1907 after developing a casing shoe that revolutionized cable tool drilling. In 1903, he introduced the offset bit for cable tool drilling to enable casing wells in hard rock and in 1912 the cement retainer that allowed casing to be cemented in the wells. Baker further improved the process with the float shoe in 1923. He is credited with obtaining more than 150 new or improved patents on oil drilling tools.

Baker was born to Mary Elizabeth ("née" Stroud) and Reuben Baker in Purcellville, Virginia, and grew up in Shasta County, California, where his father, a Civil War veteran from Chester County, Pennsylvania, was a farmer turned carpenter. Carl's older brother, Aaron Alphonso Baker, Sr. (December 10, 1867 – September 15, 1942) had also gone into the oil business, after being a dry goods merchant in Fall River Township, Shasta County. Aaron was secretary of the Coalinga Petroleum Company, formed with six wells in Fresno County on January 23, 1905, capitalized with USD$75,000, and later sold to Samuel Allen "Al" Guiberson, Jr., on December 20, 1920.

Carl Baker started out in the oil business in the Los Angeles City Oil Field by hauling oil for USD$2.00 for a 12-hour day in 1894. He then moved from hauling to contract drilling (paid by lease holders to drill their well for them). In 1899 he moved to Coalinga, California where he continued to be a drilling contractor, introducing one of the first rotary rigs in the San Joaquin Valley that same year. As he drilled he started to see areas that he could improve the equipment. He invented an improved drill bit with a dovetail grove in the side with a hole extending across the grove with a shank, key, and screw. He intended to continue as a contract driller and use his improvements to make his drilling business more competitive.

The St. Paul Consolidated Oil Company was formed on September 24, 1910, USD$600,000 in capital, R. C. as president and W. T. Knowles as secretary, with five wells in Fresno County. On January 4, 1911, R. C. formed the Coalinga Lost Hills Oil Company with USD$75,000 in capital, Baker as president and Robert Lee Peeler as secretary. Carl and Aaron formed the Future Success Oil Company, with Carl as president and Aaron as secretary, with USD$100,000 of capital on May 3, 1913.

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