08/11/2026
Built in the Basin | Episode 7
When people picture the early days of the oil and gas industry in the San Juan Basin, they usually picture the field.
But the people who kept the offices running — who managed the books, handled operations, maintained relationships with clients, and held the administrative infrastructure together through boom and bust — were often women. And at Dugan Production, that was true from the very beginning.
This photo captures a piece of that story: Mary Dugan, Maxine Wheeler, and Dorothy Winer, pictured alongside Tom Dugan, Jim Jacobs, and Bud Crane. Mary ran the company's first office from the front bedroom of their home on Dustin Street. Dorothy and Maxine went on to become officers of the company. Barbara Williams was another long-standing, trusted member of the team.
The San Juan Basin's history belongs to all of them — not just the names on the leases.
