Virginia City

The Lee C. McFarland Curatorial Center

Lee C. McFarland (1920 - 1994)

Lee Craig McFarland was born in Long Beach, California in 1920. He attended the University of California Berkeley, graduating with a Petroleum Engineering/Geology degree in January 1942. He immediately joined the wartime navy serving in destroyer/minesweepers in the Pacific theater, culminating in his final assignment as captain of the U.S.S. Zane at age 24! Subsequently he worked for three different oil producing companies always with his eye on the goal of developing his own oil producing company.

When the opportunity came, he was ready with experience and a reputation for all the solid values that had built friends and admirers in the industry.

He had a plaque hanging in his office that he delighted in saying, "NO amount of planning can replace dumb luck!" He gave luck a lot of credit for the success of McFarland Energy, Inc., but smarts and determination were big contributors too.