a Texas Dynasty. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. On one of the yachts was President Franklin Roosevelt. Kennedy was particularly upset that Hunt, who had . The ailment. Clint Murchison, Sr. Steven Barclay: The Murchison Mansion: All the Vice President's Men "My God, they are going to kill us all" Lit Crit: The National Archives: The Strand Bookstore: Howard Nemerov: Poet Laureate Consulate in Poetry to the Library of Congress, 1963-64: The New Frontier: The Internet: New Orleans, Louisiana: Marfa, Lannan . The bedrooms, done in excellent simplicity, were deluxe, noted Roosevelts aide, Gen. Edwin Pa Watson, offering every comfort.. Brown said that on the evening of November 21, 1963 the night before the assassination she went to a party near Dallas at one of Clint Murchison's houses. Murchison could monitor virtually every room through remote cameras and microphones. In October, he invited his friends to pay a $10 cover charge for the opportunity to bid on his prized possessions. Jul 8, 2022 2:13 PM EDT FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls and linebacker Chuck Howley, as well as the late Dan Reeves and franchise founder Clint Murchison Jr., are among 54. with Dallas tycoons, FBI moguls and organized crime kingpins - emerging from Hunt) and H.L. Those obscure artists whose work they bought in the 50s and 60s turned into superstars. Though Brown first went public on her 21-year relationship with Johnson in Madeleine Brown first spoke publicly on the matter in 1992, in a television interview for A Current Affair. DALLAS It was in the walk-in closet, the Texas-size one big enough for a cocktail party, that Eileen Ray`s disappointment finally spilled over. JFK Theory: Texas Oil Men. ''The goods would never have brought the money they will bring if sold anywhere else but here,'' Garrett said. To the north is the nearly empty barrier island of San Jose, which rolls out for more than 20 miles to a brackish bayou. Edward was born on June 5 1881, in Oatlands Tasmania Australia. The Potomac was, in fact, a Coast Guard patrol boat, the former Electra, which had been refitted at no great expense for Fathers use, Elliott recalled. straight from the horse's mouth. But Sothebys, which routinely handles large estates, found the job overwhelming and overlooked some 150 works in its appraisal. Murchison died at 10:40 p.m. Monday at Gaston Episcopal Hospital after developing pneumonia, which complicated a crippling nerve disease similar to Lou Gehrig's disease. Ross had the opportunity to conduct an 80 minute sit-down interview with Madeleine FEDERAL: 10,002 acres. As the 25 wooded acres surrounding his Dallas mansion were about to be auctioned off, Murchison-owned Klimanorm Corp., owner of the land, filed in bankruptcy court Monday for protection from creditors. Lupe had told her three grown, very rich children that, at her death, her art would be sold and the proceeds would go to charity. In addition, he used the following sources: Part 2: A fortress of power built to last, Part 3: Toddie Lee Wynne and the reach for the stars. One feature that most of the potential bidders didn`t see was the elaborate audio-video security-lighting-drapery system that Murchison had installed. Let them come and buy the works. After all, the proceeds would go to Lupes favorite charities. In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt began his second term with a rare political miscalculation. 7 BEDROOMS 7 BATHROOMS 2 HALF-BATH 18,600 SQ. happened to John Kennedy - he and Lyndon Johnson," said Brown. and I looked up.he had this motorcade route.it When Johnson was elected, the president serendipitously announced a fishing trip to Port Aransas. programs before the assassination, were mysteriously set-up in homosexual scandals Roosevelt exploded: What in the world Sid, do you mean youre going to roll me down that bull chute?, Why, Mr. President, Sid said with a smile, youre the biggest bull that ever went down that chute.. spinned and whitewashed). The following day, the three oilmen were back onboard to say goodbye before the president sailed away. Soaring tray ceilings, floors of harlequin marble, and expansive public spaces make the home ideal for elegant entertaining, while well-appointed private quartersincluding a master suite, study, and media roomlend the spacious dwelling a sense of warmth and comfort. The projection room has no projector and the movie screen dangles limply from the rafters. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Murchison and his wife, Anne, have moved to more modest quarters where he has around-the-clock nursing care. During President Roosevelts visit in 1937, Sid Richardson led the presidential motorcade along this beach from San Jose across to Matagorda, where they had lunch at the Murchison residence. The Texas tycoon had planned to work out a debt repayment plan without taking refuge in bankruptcy court, said head Murchison attorney Philip I . Ms. Brown was with LBJ at. The program honors North Texas top projects, transactions, dealmakers, and industry leaders. Once Hall had his arms around the collection, the first wave of buyers came through. assassination are often ignored by the media who prefer to keep the debate focused In addition, he used the following sources: Log of the Cruise of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Gulf of Mexico, FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, N.Y.; Archival film of Franklin Roosevelts visit to Port Aransas. Before the jets, there were yachts. Everything fell apart for Mr. Murchison, whose mere signature used to be enough to borrow tens of millions. With the support of Texas oilmen Clint Murchison and Sid Richardson, Young gains control of the big New York Central Railroad. Mr. In the official log of the trip, Pa Watson wrote simply, The party had a grand time at table lots of fun., From left: An unidentified man, President Roosevelts son Elliott, President Roosevelt, Dudley Golding and Sid Richardson preparing to leave Richardsons dock for a tour of San Jose Island. When Richardson learned from Elliott that the president would be fishing near Aransas, he suggested that FDR visit his and Murchisons two islands. Sailors in their tropical whites and black, knotted neckerchiefs stood at the side rail and guided Richardsons big mahogany cabin cruiser, the Saltaire, to the four-step side stair. What he found was his second wife, Ruth, and rich locals like Richardson and Amon Carter eager to help out the son of the president. Read now, Video Editors: David Guzman and Alan Peppard. McCarthy/Staff Photographer). media mogul. tycoon with close links to the Genovese mafia, on November 21st 1963, the night Clint W. Jr. & John D Murchison Credit: The Denver Post Dallas Women Visit National Jewish Mrs. Ben K. Miller, left, president of the Denver Women's Committee of National Jewish Hospital, welcomes Mrs.. came back to Dallas I was walking.with him.and he Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of evidence for this claim which is understandable since if powerful men met to finalize the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) the next day one shouldn't expect to find evidence of this meeting easily. Johnson was still irate when he called Madeleine Brown the morning There is a claim that there was a party at the home of Dallas Oil Man Clint Murchison on the night of November 21, 1963. Clint W. Murchison, Sr. was born April 11, 1895, in Tyler to John W. and Clara (Williams) Murchison. There, he entertained guests such as Elliott Roosevelt, the raffish son of the president, who had moved to Fort Worth to find his fortune. This first installment of a three-part series examines President Franklin Roosevelts 1937 visit that would affect the lives of future island guests Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. Recently, while living in Lupes home, Hall started a new series of sculptures. Murchisons houseman Jewel Phifer noted that Richardson talked a lot and he would say anything to anybody. Instead of attending college he worked in his father's bank. Ancient dunes are unmarred by condos, and spring break is a distant thunder. Many friends visited, but the most constant was Sid Richardson. His private office was. Murchison was probably in the top five. off to have a haircut. He was intensely interested in the details of your campaign. The group met for a party in Dallas hosted by Clint Murchison, another. about two years prior to the assassination of John Kennedy.". of criminals from carrying out 9/11? Murchison Oil . said Brown. After Wynne took control of American Liberty from his partner Clint Murchison, he relocated its headquarters to a rambling Mediterranean house overlooking Turtle Creek. the patsy Lee Harvey Oswald dead on November 24. other people connected to the events in Dealy Plaza, Brown felt that she was But another son, John Murchison, had kept the family business alive and kicking. In twenty years, Clint had gone through $1.25 billion to $550 in debt. Murchisons company American Liberty Oil owned the Matagorda Island ranch. to perhaps the biggest smoking gun proving that the assassination of JFK was Ad Choices, A historic Southern estate showcases dramatic details and welcoming spaces ideal for entertaining, 7 Tricks on How to Decorate Your Living Room in an Instant, Interior architect Darren Jett reimagines a handful of bare-bones spaces with sharp design tips, Monty Pythons Eric Idle Lists Dreamy Pink Spanish-Style Home for $6.5 Million, The Hollywood Hills pad has arched doorways, vintage tiles, and enviable gardens, Britney Spears Sells Neoclassical-Style Calabasas Mansion for $10.1 Million, The Gimme More singer and her husband owned the home for all of eight months, This Interior Designer Didnt Like a Single House in AtlantaUntil She Found a 1980s Abode With Mediterranean Flare. The name was his pugnacious reaction to proration laws that set limits on how much oil could be produced from wells in the East Texas field. Within a few minutes of the 10 a.m. opening, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes and Jeeps jammed the tree-lined driveway and gave the armed security guards, reduced to traffic-control officers, ample reason to wish they`d stayed home on that drizzly Dallas afternoon. Hot Property: 23 Ash Bluff Lane, $8.95 Million. "We were playing poker at the Carousel Club and Jack Ruby came over and chose different people to do certain things for him and I'm sure it went on She became his patron. He and Mr. Murchison were always teasing one another.. Clint Murchison wanted that home to stay in the family for sentimental reasons. Clint Murchison Sr., born in 1895, was the son of a banker, John Weldon Murchison, owner of the First National Bank of Athens, Texas. Jane Wolfe is the author of The Murchisons: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Dynasty. Meanwhile, on San Jose Island, the former home of Sid Richardson remains well maintained. It was my job as a fiduciary to get as much money as I could for the works, he explains. 750 North St.Paul St. Johnson would have probably gone to prison - they would have gotten rid of him to John Currington (an aide to H.L. But Hall is in no hurry to finish his work and move out. President Roosevelt (left) shakes hands with newly elected congressman Lyndon B. Johnson (right) as Gov. ''I`ve been in my house 18 years, and I`ve replaced the carpet three times.''. The night before the Kennedy assassination, Lyndon Baines Johnson met Johnson hatched the assassination plot. The New Frontier. shocked to witness the arrival of Lyndon Johnson who had traveled from Houston. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, Jr.. It takes an extraordinary person to completely squander a fortune that they did not create, but that's exactly what Clint Murchison, Jr. managed to do. business tycoon with close links to the Genovese mafia, on November. much in the meeting and when he came out.he grabbed me by the arm and he in 1960 - when H.L. Even with Halls credentials, though, selling the Murchison collection would be a difficult job. Adjusted for inflation, this is the equivalent of $1 . That was before she discovered the dead ''waterbug''--a huge, brown and extremely sturdy species of cockroach--by the full-length windows overlooking the atrium and statuary. Hunt met met three days prior to the election - they finally cut a deal according He suffers from a degenerative nerve disease and is confined to a wheelchair. In their twenties, the brothers began speculating on land and buildings in the Cleveland area. When the road ended at the beach, the cars drove across it to the waters edge, where the air was cool and the sand packed hard. The president came ashore exactly once. Those present at the. He was interested in defending and upholding the private enterprise system, particularly for the oil and gas industry. When the favors came, Johnson was quick to repay them with interest. a masked gunman invaded Cullen Davis' hilltop mansion . "It was a political crime for political power," said Brown as she In any kind of sea, the presidential yacht was likely to turn turtle., The term yacht was a slight misnomer. Though silent when Roosevelt sprang it on the Cabinet, Cactus Jack was seen later in the Senate lobby pinching his nose with his thumb and forefinger. It has four refrigerator-freezers, three sinks and two dishwashers. A son of Clint Murchison, Sr. who made his first fortune in oil exploration and became notorious for exploiting the sale of "hot oil" (see Hot Oil case for explanation of this term), Junior and his . stands next to him. ''Something about a person`s residence makes it more appealing. Start your own chapter in the former home of the Dallas Polo Club. Fishing guide Ted Mathews (left) looks on. Go to Original Article >>>. Brown said that the plan to kill JFK had its origins in the 1960 Democratic . Murchison Jr. was brought up to experience the finer things in life, and this would align with how he spent his fortune. In fact, if one person personified the center of business and political power in Texas in 1963 it would be Clint Murchison, Sr. His son, Clint Jr. was a founding owner of the Dallas Cowboys in 1960. Of course, I knew who Lupe Murchison was, but she couldnt have picked me out of a police lineup, says 57-year-old Hall, who previously owned Hall Galleries in Dallas. ''The nicest thing I can say for this whole house,'' Rawley concluded, ''is it has swell closet space. Two days later, he was back to escort the presidential party, first to his island, San Jose, and then to Matagorda for lunch. It was that brash irreverence that would endear Richardson to two presidents. John Murchison's wife Lupe did not want the house because it was designed in the very gawdy style of the Texas oil baron, ie in poor taste. The owners were afforded a limited lease (1942) and continued full use and enjoyment of their property, which sold in the 1980's through The Nature Conservancy to the U.S. said Brown. The first of its kind in the NFL, it was originally intended to be part of a 160-acre mixed use development. or found dead having allegedly shot themselves five times in the head. It changed the trajectories of Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower and put them on the road to the White House, and it cast Murchison and Richardson as the first oilman kingmakers. The highest vantage point on San Jose is still the rooftop sundeck over Richardsons bedroom. "Had the assassination not happened the day that it did, Lyndon Roosevelt, who had been stricken with polio 15 years earlier, feared a fire at sea. After lunch at the Murchison house, Roosevelt returned the hospitality with a dinner in the salon of the Potomac for Richardson, Murchison and Wynne. The Dallas art market has never been anything to hoot and holler about, says Brian Roughton, who sells 19th- and 20th-century traditional American paintings. But along with the commissions he would be paid, the job came with an irresistible perk. much in the meeting and when he came out.he grabbed me by the arm and he They treated her very badly, says Rick Brettell, a former director of the DMA. Besides the sheer size of it, there was the matter of timing. In going through paperwork, he discovered mention of a $350,000 Larry Rivers paintingbut he couldnt find the piece. Sitting on more than half an acre and built in 2005, a Terrell Hills home recently listed for nearly $2.9 million features, Charles Haarmann paid just $1,000 for a half-acre lot in what's now the King William Historic District. The mansion on St. Johns was purchased by Aikman for a confirmed $4.3 million. Man, this has been a STRANGE offseason for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. Ray and a friend, Clemence Rawley, had been cruising the 40,000-sq.-ft. North Dallas mansion of Clint Murchison Jr., former owner of the Dallas Cowboys, former wealthy person and one of the most notable of the oil-rich to go belly-up when the slump hit Texas three years ago. came back to Dallas I was walking.with him.and he An aerial photo of San Jose (foreground) and Matagorda islands. The answer to all of your questions that, on the night before, which amounted to a coven of witches and, (somewhat reminiscent of the climax of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short. received little media attention. Brown said that in the immediate aftermath of the convention Hunt and Johnson - he was so involved with some of this," said Brown. The Murchisons were one of the most prominent oil families in Texas, a state knee deep in them. This love-hate conflict with the Kennedy administration was especially felt by one wealthy, big-oil man named Clint Murchison. The cushioned fantail provided a spot where visiting dignitaries could be entertained, recalled Elliott Roosevelt, who would introduce Richardson to his father. Brown was in Dallas in the day of the assassination but just as the parade mafia kingpins, several newspaper and TV reporters, and Richard Nixon. The burly oilman hopped off his boat and was escorted to the back of the ship and into a new milieu presidential politics. Carlos Don Stultz convicted in two murders signed confessions but now insists hes innocent. In the tradition of the Florentine arts patrons of the Renaissance, Lupe and John used to sponsor young artists from around the country, paying their rent and buying their works when they were getting started. Clint was a hot oiler in every respect, recalled oilman J.R. Parten. The last flickering image of John Wayne faded decades ago. November 21, 1963. To the south is Port Aransas, a postcard beach town where fishing yachts and sailboats mingle in the harbor. Convention, at which John F. Kennedy was elected as presidential candidate with As the waves broke to the right, Roosevelts procession rolled for miles along the isolated beach. But medium-priced art in the $1,000 to $10,000 range is not doing well.. Most Revealing Wink Of The 20th Century. The Newman Family. He forfeited the college education planned for him by his parents and worked in his father's bank, where he acquired financial expertise. Still, she made a last-ditch effort to do something to help the museum. Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of Clint Murchison Jr., from his pinnacle as owner of the Dallas Cowboys to the collapse of his empire in bankruptcy. Johnson was still irate when he called Madeleine Brown the morning Main photo: An aerial view of the landing strip and home of Sid Richardson on San Jose Island. the patsy Lee Harvey Oswald dead on November 24. No causeways extend from the mainland. Richardson and his friend Clint Murchison Sr. played hosts to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. His sons Clint Jr. and John . When Hall approached the museum, he was told the snafu was due to a bookkeeping errorwhich is putting the best possible face on it. The Murchison/Wynne home on Matagorda Island is now part of a wildlife refuge. Edward Clark introduced Mac Wallace to Lyndon B. Johnson in October, 1950, and he then began working with the United States Department of Agriculture in Texas. Hunt really controlled what actually Murchison, 63, no longer lives here. This Toddie L. Wynne - clint Murchison (American Liberty. In Roosevelts Trip File was a staff memorandum: When we get down to Texas, we have to arrange to have the Congressman-elect, who ran on a pro-New Deal, pro-Court Reorganization platform, to see the president.. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. and I looked up.he had this motorcade route.it Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. 1. blessed event that was to happen the next day and to create an, day on the stump for the sole purpose of attending this party so. By the late 1990s, Lupe was appalled at what she considered the Dallas Museums mistreatment of donors. Hunt) and H.L. (G.J. Jan 14, 2011. A three-story mansion in San Antonio's Monte Vista Historic District once owned by powerful oilman Clint Murchison has hit the market for $1.5 million. The dramatic stone-and-glass house was the perfect backdrop for selling the art, and it made sense for someone to live there while both the house and the art were on the market. When they got to a fence, theyd go right through it and keep grazing.. highlighted how people who were set to testify against Johnson for indictment mapped out a strategy to kill Kennedy. 's will never embarrass . Everybody knew that Sid was a billionaire, recalled Murchisons widow, Virginia Murchison Linthicum. me again - that's no threat - that's a promise.'" Then he jumped to his death. She was flatly rejected. made the remark, 'we may have lost a battle but we're going to win a war,' and It was a warm South Texas day and most members of the party kept wide-brimmed hats on their heads. The former home of Clint Murchison Sr. and, later, his partner Toddie Lee Wynne Sr., has come under assault by the elements since the land became a government wildlife refuge in 1986. Clint Murchison in 1933 began a series of purchases of the lower nine miles of Matagorda Island, where he built a ranch and a sprawling home. In the early 1930s, Murchison was a grieving father of three young boys. Her real fear, she said in a low voice, is rumors that developers are bidding for the estate so that they can raze the mansion ''and put up a lot of little houses. The unguided tour of the house last Thursday and Friday was the event of the week, surpassing even the scheduled auction that occurred over the weekend. Howard Nemerov. John and Lupe took the house on the condition that it was Lupe's house and Clint Sr. had no say in the way it was run. Screens kept out the mosquitoes yet allowed the sea breeze to waft through the one-story mansion. would go as the vice president.this came from the horse's mouth way back He slept below decks in a stateroom that few admirals would have looked at twice.. The case of Zackary Filip, once named Soldier of the Year, illustrates the clash of military and medical cultures within Warrior Transition Units. the conference to tell his mistress Madeleine Duncan Brown that "those It is important to note that before her death Brown carried no hostility towards "It was a total political crime and H.L. Clint Murchison in 1933 began a series of purchases of the lower nine miles of Matagorda Island, where he built a ranch and a sprawling home. It is not the first time Murchison has auctioned his worldly goods to pay debts estimated at $400 million. He displayed the kinetic workswhich are in the style of Alexander Calderat Lupes house.