(Christmas Card 1931)

Hopkins – Gowen Oil Company is one of the oldest continually running businesses in Charlton County. Founded in 1933, it was purchased from the Gibson Brothers of Waycross, GA.

(Business Envelope Early 1940's)

Mr. JV (Jim) Gowen and his son, Mr. J. Dean Gowen bought the business. For several years, Mr. Dean ran the operation. At that time, the business was known as Gowen Oil and also Gowen’s Garage. The operation consisted largely of retail gasoline sales and garage services.

(Mr. JV Gowen, 1940's)

As the business evolved, Mr. John Southwell was hired by Mr. JV Gowen to help run the day to day operations. Mr. Southwell, at that time, was the bookkeeper for Toledo Manufacturing. As Mr. Southwell’s role in the business grew, he was given an opportunity to buy into the company along with Mr. Alva Hopkins in 1937. As a result, the operation changed names again, and in 1944 became known as Southwell – Hopkins Oil Company.

(Original structure in 1939)

In 1961, Mr. Southwell made a buy/sell offer to his partner at the time, the estate of Mr. Alva Hopkins – namely Mrs. Jewell Hopkins, his wife and their two small children, Deborah and Alva III (Joe). What transpired was the purchase of Mr. Southwell’s ownership by Mr. Harold Gowen (Alva’s brother-in-law) and Mr. Colquitt Hopkins (Alva’s brother). This transaction took place in 1962 and left the business with yet another name, Hopkins – Gowen Oil Company. Upon Mr. Alva Hopkin’s death, his wife, the aforementioned Jewell, became involved in the family business – working day to day in the office.

Colquitt "Buck" Hopkins, 1974.

Buck is pictured in the newly built office of Hopkins - Gowen Oil Company.

(A credit card from 1934)

The original structure in the early 1950's was once known as the Paxton Theater, showing silent movies until it became a fuel station in the early twenties. Note: This is the same building shown in the photo above but without the canopy. Look closely, the photo is in reverse.

Jewell Hopkins Kopp, Christmas 1975.

One year later, Jewell is pictured in the same seat as Colquitt above.

(Alva J. Hopkins, Jr. in 1941)

In the early years, the operation was branded Sinclair. At one point, the land itself was owned by The Sinclair Company. The business actually distributed Sinclair products until September of 1969 when BP Oil Corporation bought out Sinclair’s retail outlets on the eastern seaboard. Shortly thereafter, the company was branded BP. The company remained BP branded until 1973. That year, BP southeastern territory was acquired by Standard Oil of Ohio, more widely known as Sohio. Shortly thereafter, the regional rights were sold to Ameri-Petro Fina. From 1973 to 1999 Hopkins – Gowen Oil Company was a Fina branded operation.

(William F. Clark, church photo 2009)

In 1967, company ownership brought in Mr. William F. “Billy” Clark. Mr. Clark was hired as the bookkeeper as well as to aid in running general operations. Mr. Clark had experience in the fuel business as well as bookkeeping. Once Mrs. Jewell retired, Mr. Clark took over complete responsibility of day to day operations. In 1972, Mr. Clark was given the opportunity to buy into the business. His tenure spans almost 50 years and continues to this day as he is still President of the organization.

(R. Greg Johnson, city council 2012)

As Mr. Alva Hopkins' children grew older, both Deborah Hopkins Carter & Alva Joseph (Joe) Hopkins III retained their interest in the family business. In 2008, Joe’s son-in-law, R. Greg Johnson, Jr. was asked to join the business. Five years later, in 2013, Mr. Johnson and his wife, Melissa, bought into the business. He is now the company’s Vice President.

("Billy" Clark and his granddaughter Johnna)

As time passed, the operation itself changed and the kind of businesses it serviced changed. In 1984, Mr. Billy Clark saw an opportunity to service logging crews on the land tracts they harvested. Mr. Clark had fuel tanks built that met the harsh demands of logging operations and he personally delivered the fuel. Over time, this developed into the backbone of the company’s business. It redirected the demand of fuel products necessary to supply the customer base. The 1980’s saw a dramatic shift from gasoline to diesel fuels. Today, Hopkins-Gowen Oil remains unbranded in an effort to utilize the best pricing structures possible.

Hopkins – Gowen Oil Company has a long standing relationship with Amalie Refining Company. It encompasses more than 40 years of business together and began in 1973. The relationship started as a result of an embargo on Fina lubricants in the southeast region. Various oil products became increasingly difficult to obtain so Mr. Clark began looking for a solution. A friend in the same line of work recommended he consider Amalie as he’d been very happy with their products. The representative contacted Mr. Clark and from there a relationship was born.

Alva J. Hopkins, Jr. (1944)

Father

Alva J. Hopkins, III. (2012)

Son

S. Harold Gowen on a morning quail hunt in 2012.

S. Harold Gowen (1940's)