Goodbye Riggins, Hello Sinclair in Egg Harbor Township

You might soon notice a big, green dinosaur on a gas station in Egg Harbor Township.

Wednesday morning, crews were working at the Riggins gas station on the Black Horse Pike near the old Cardiff Circle in Egg Harbor Township as that location is becoming a Sinclair station.

While the company has been around for over a century, Sinclair is a relatively new brand to South Jersey -- or at least one that people may have forgotten about.

According to Wikipedia,

During September, 1919, Harry Sinclair restructured Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation, Sinclair Gulf Corporation, and 26 other related entities into Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation. In 1932, this new entity was renamed Consolidated Oil Corporation. In 1943, it was renamed Sinclair Oil Corporation.

 

At the Chicago World's Fair of 1933–1934, Sinclair sponsored a dinosaur exhibit meant to play on the link between the formation of petroleum deposits and the time of dinosaurs, now a largely discredited misconception. The exhibit included a two-ton animated model of a brontosaurus. The exhibit proved so popular it inspired a promotional line of rubber brontosaurs at Sinclair stations, complete with wiggling heads and tails, and the eventual inclusion of the brontosaur logo.

 

At the New York World's Fair of 1964–1965, Sinclair again sponsored a dinosaur exhibit, "Dinoland", featuring life-size replicas of nine different dinosaurs, including their signature brontosaurus.

A few years ago, Sinclair announced a push to bring its brand back to the east coast with a few locations planned in New Jersey.

Locally, Riggins Oil, based in Vineland, is the exclusive marketer of the Sinclair Licensing Program in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, according to its website.

One Sinclair station is currently open on Route 322 in Swedesboro.