Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co.

Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. (SWD) was one of the largest mortgage banking, real estate and insurance firms in the Southeast of the United States. It was founded in 1884 as the Telfair Stockton Company and operated until 1983 when it was broken up by its new owner Phillips Petroleum Company. The assets were sold to First National Bank of Boston and Gate Petroleum.

Prior to its breakup the company was headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida and was the developer of Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 1930s.[1] At its height, SWD had a real estate portfolio worth $100 million and a mortgage loan servicing portfolio of $3.8 billion, providing services in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

History

The company was founded as Stockton, Whatley in the late 19th century and the original partners were James R. Stockton Sr., Brown L. Whatley and Joseph W. Davin.

The San Marco district of Jacksonville was developed by the Stockton Whatley Company in the 1920s.[2]

It developed the Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 1930s.[1]

J.J. Daniel became president of SWD in 1960. He led development of the Deerwood section of Jacksonville, and the companion Deerwood Country Club, the most exclusive gated communities at the time and for many years thereafter.

In 1964, SWD was purchased by the General American Oil Company.[3]

Don Davis was named General Manager of Deerwood Country Club in 1965, a position he held for over 20 years. In 1978, Davis was promoted to Operations Vice President of SWD, responsible for all Deerwood Club operations, including the sale of residences and home sites.

William F. Aberly joined SWD as Financial Vice President in 1965 and retired as Chairman and CEO in 1984 prior to the company's dissolution.[4]

Phillips Petroleum Company acquired SWD early in 1983 in the $1.1 billion purchase of the General American Oil Company of Texas for its Phillips Oil Company subsidiary, which announced its intention to sell SWD.[5] A number of banks and corporations made combined offers for the 50,000+ acres of real estate and $100+ million in mortgage notes. When the bids were analyzed, Phillips saw that they would maximize their return by selling SWD's real estate and mortgages separately.

First National Bank of Boston was not interested in the real estate, so their offer of $120 million for the mortgage banking business was accepted.[6] Gate Petroleum bid $60 million for the real estate portfolio, which was less than the value of the assets, but they were the only entity that submitted an offer on just the real estate, so the properties were sold to Gate.[7]

References
  1. Florida Times-Union: May 31, 2007-When Ponte Vedra was just a rural beach by Maggie Fitzroy Archived August 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. EU Jacksonville: April 5, 2007-Historically Ours San Marco
  3. The Handbook of Texas online: GENERAL AMERICAN OIL COMPANY
  4. New Bern (NC) Sun-Journal: May 18, 2008-Obituaries/William Franklin Aberly
  5. Conoco-Phillips: Phillips Company History-New Discoveries, Innovations and Challenges: 1966-1986 Archived 2007-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
  6. New York Times: May 23, 1983-Boston Bank Acquisition
  7. Newboy: the Autobiography of Herbert Hill Peyton, Herbert Hill Peyton, ISBN 0-9658277-0-4, published by Gate Petroleum Co, January 1997 page 171
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