Built about 1910 by Mr. and Mrs. Jas. R. Holman, who settled in Monahans in 1898, the Old Holman Hotel was tied to the family’s many enterprises. “Dad” Holman operated a lumber and coal business, dray, and livery stable; he met daily trains and brought homeseekers or salesmen to the family hotel. One of the family’s six children was Eugene Holman (1895-1962), a petroleum industry leader who rose in 1944 to the presidency of Standard Oil of New Jersey, the world’s largest oil company. Noted for labor relations, he served as an advisor to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and won the American Petroleum Institute gold medal of distinguished achievement in 1960.