The 19th-century industrialist whose wealth has been credited with propelling much of the philanthropy that shaped early St. Charles has never been publicly recognized in town.

That's about to change.

On Sunday, May 17, the St. Charles History Museum will dedicate a bronze bust of John Warne "Bet-a-Million" Gates, along with a new museum sign and antique Texaco gas pumps.

The May 17 ceremony: The event will take place at the St. Charles History Museum at the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street at 2PM. Tom Anderson, owner of Colonial Ice Cream and a member of the museum board, will emcee.

Three dedications in one: Along with the bust, the event will unveil a new stone museum sign facing Third and Main and a pair of historic Texaco gas pumps (donated by Tom Anderson) installed under the building's canopy. The pumps are a nod to the building's origins as a McCornack Oil Texaco station, which turns 100 in 2028.

The man history forgot: Gates was born in Turner Junction, now West Chicago, and made his fortune selling barbed wire before helping form U.S. Steel and founding what became Texaco. According to author Archie Bentz, Gates's wealth passed through the Baker and Norris families and helped fund a long list of St. Charles landmarks, including the Baker Community Center, the Baker Hotel, and the Arcada Theatre. While Edward Baker and Dellora Norris are honored with statues in town, Gates currently has no memorial here.

Behind the effort: Bentz spent five years researching Gates for his book "Bet-a-Million: The Man History Forgot." He says the project got its start after he spoke to Norris family descendants last June, who signed on as the primary donors for the sculpture. Texas artist Lori Betz sculpted the bust. Todd Surta of ACS Cast Stone, a St. Charles History Museum member, donated the new museum sign, the pedestal and installation of the bust, and the pedestal for the gas pumps.

An ambitious industrialist, Gates was primarily a barbed wire baron, but also became involved in steel, railroads, oil, and Wall Street. He was also a notorious gambler (hence the “Bet-A-Million” nickname).

He was instrumental in the creation of U.S. Steel and Texaco, rubbed shoulders with the likes Morgan, Carnegie, and Rockefeller, and played a key role in shaping the economic landscape of America in his time.

Bentz says that Gates' impact on St. Charles centers around his financial contributions. He says Dellora Norris, who received roughly $38 million plus properties and an art collection after Gates' death in 1911, was the main beneficiary of the family fortune. Colonel Edward Baker also inherited a share.

From there, Bentz credits Gates’ wealth as the foundational driver behind the St. Charles Boys School, the Henry Rockwell Baker Memorial Building, the First National Bank of St. Charles, the Baker Hotel, the 1941 City Hall, the Arcada Theatre, the Baker Memorial Methodist Church, and other local institutions.

According to Bentz, Mayor Clint Hull is expected to proclaim May 18, Gates's birthday, as an annual Gates Day in St. Charles. The date has been celebrated for decades in Port Arthur, Texas, where Bentz says Gates helped launch Texaco and paid for streets, a library, and a college.

Copies of Bentz’s book will be available at both events, and the finished pedestal will list the 16 Norris grandchildren as project benefactors.

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