“Quality Gas for Less”: The Rise and Fall of Whiting Brothers

Founded in 1926, Whiting Brothers built over 100 gas stations along U.S. highways—many on Route 66.

Whiting Brothers was a chain of gasoline stations founded in 1926 and based in St. Johns and Holbrook, Arizona. At its height, the company operated over one hundred filling stations—many along U.S. Route 66—as well as fifteen motels and several truck stops. Originating from the family’s lumber business, the stations were built quickly and affordably, often on inexpensive land at the edges of towns. Known for offering lower fuel prices than major chains, Whiting Brothers also provided discount cards, trading stamps, and free ice during the summer. Profits were reinvested into steady expansion through the Great Depression and into the postwar years, with the business eventually extending west into California and east into Texas.

The rise of the Interstate highway system and fuel shortages in the 1970s led to a sharp decline. By the 1980s, viable stations were sold off, while others were abandoned. Some, like the former Whiting Brothers station in Truxton, Arizona—later operating as an Enco and then a Mobil by 1983—still stand in varying states of decay. One of the last actively branded sites, Sal & Inez’s Service Station in Moriarty, New Mexico, saw its historic signage restored and relit in 2014 through support from the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Today, the remaining structures serve as fading reminders of the once-prominent roadside chain.