Red Head Gasoline
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Vintage Red Head signs are eagerly sought
by
collectors and have been widely reproduced.
Courtesy of James E. Casto
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Founded in Wooster, Ohio, in the early 1930s, the former
Red Head Gasoline & Motor Oil Co. operated dozens of
discount service stations, mostly in Ohio but also
in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia
Red Head priced its
gasoline a few cents
cheaper than the prices charged by
other stations, thus becoming
popular with bargain-
minded motorists.
In Huntington, the company
opened a Red Head
station at 16th Street and 8th Avenue in the
early 1940s and continued to operate it
until 1957. In 1954, it opened a second
station at 551 3rd Ave. It briefly
operated both stations but
ultimately closed both
of them.
In addition to Huntington, Red Head operated
stations in a number of other West Virginia
communities, including Bluefield,
Charleston, South Charleston,
Clarksburg and Wheeling
Along with its lower pump prices, Red Head
offered its customers coupons which, like
trading stamps, could be saved and then
redeemed for attractive reward items.
At its peak, the company distributed
a colorful catalog that offered 29
pages of gifts, including auto
accessories, tools, appli-
ances, toys, sporting
goods and even a
transistor
radio.
In the early 1970s, Red Head sold out to
Ashland Oil, which briefly continued
the brand but transformed the
better sites into SuperAmerica
stations. By the time of the
Ashland-Marathon merger,
the Red Head brand had
all but vanished.
Today, vintage Red Head signs are
eagerly sought by collectors and
have been widely reproduced.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Dec. 10, 2024.
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