What was the name of John D. Rockefeller's original oil company founded in 1870?

John D. Rockefeller’s original oil company, founded in 1870, was the Standard Oil Company.

Rockefeller incorporated the business in Ohio after an earlier partnership involving his brother William, Henry Flagler, Samuel Andrews, and other associates. The company began with $1 million in capital and used the name “Standard Oil” to suggest dependable quality and consistent products in a young, chaotic petroleum market.

The company expanded rapidly through refining, transportation agreements, pipelines, and acquisitions. Its growing dominance eventually led to the Standard Oil Trust in 1882 and, after years of antitrust litigation, the 1911 Supreme Court order that broke the enterprise into 34 successor companies.

A common mix-up is treating Standard Oil of New Jersey, Standard Oil of Indiana, or Standard Oil of Ohio as the original nationwide company. Standard Oil of Ohio was the original Ohio corporation and later became known as Sohio; the broader Standard Oil empire and its later successor companies are not identical entities.