There was another small refinery in Lusk
Topic: Resources
Independent Refinery was the name of another similarly scaled plant established in 1936 by Chris Joss and Hugh Best. Located on the south side of the highway along the railroad tracks heading east of downtown Lusk just past the bridge over the irrigation canal. In 1938 Bill Hitz bought the interest of Hugh Best. In 1941 the old Chicago & Northwestern depot from Jireh, the abandoned townsite of a Christian girls school west of Lusk, was moved to the Independent Refinery to serve as its service station building. In 1945 Jennings Ruffing bought the interest of Chris Joss and was sole owner after Hitz died in 1952. In 1954 an addition to the former depot building comprising a "lubratorium" and rest rooms, was constructed. According to the Lusk Herald, August 17, 1961, it became Sioux Service, Chuck Smith, manager. I looked at the site in June 2005 and found that the old depot was still recognizable. While there's no gas pumps out in front, auto repair is still performed in the addition. The yard behind it still contains a few old steel tanks which look like some of those at the C & H.