joseph s. cullinan, an oil baron who founded texaco, bought the land that would become shadyside in 1916. cullinan had purchased from the estate of george h. hermann for an undisclosed amount of money and hired a civil engineer to design the community. the estate wanted to ensure that the land would be controlled by one person. cullinan said that hermann himself did not want the new subdivision to adversely affect rice institute and hermann park. cullinan said that his intention was to create a subdivision so that his business acquaintances and friends could live near him. in 1920 cullinan put the subdivision, with 16 lots, on the market. it sold out within six weeks. the subdivision included a trust agreement stating that there would be no businesses, and that there would be no overhead electric lines or poles placed on any properties. it was scheduled to expire on june 30, 1969. cullinan donated a piece of land next to shadyside to the houston art league so the league could build a museum; this ensured that shadyside would remain desirable. mike sheridan of the "houston chronicle" said "a story" said that william "will" hogg had an interest in buying a house in shadyside but chose not to do so, and that "some observers say" that cullinan had intended to sell land to hogg but the two entered into a dispute over the title, so hogg decided not to buy land there. hogg and some associates instead developed river oaks.