Return to Artworks
Return to General Information

JESSE HOLMAN JONES
1874 - 1956

Jesse Jones's legacy of service endures today through his lifelong contributions to the common good.

As early Houston's foremost builder, as Chairman of the National Bank of Commerce, and as publisher of the Houston Chronicle, Jesse Jones inspired the city to grow toward the sky and beyond its small town borders.

As the first Chairman of the Houston Harbor Board, he led the effort to complete the Houston Ship Channel. As Chairman of the federal government's Reconstruction Finance Corporation, he stimulated economic recovery during the Great Depression and, later, as Secretary of Commerce, helped prepare the nation and its allies for global defense during World War II.

As philanthropists, he and his wife, Mary Gibbs Jones, shared their wealth to cultivate a vibrant community for all.