In 1911, his brother Frank Sterling, other oilmen, and he formed the Humble Oil Company, a predecessor of present-day Exxon-Mobil.
He served as chairman of the Texas Highway Commission under his predecessor, Governor Dan Moody.
During Sterling's term in office, the East Texas oil fields experienced rapid and uncontrolled development.
In addition, his grand-nephew, Ross N. Sterling, a Republican, became a United States federal judge in Texas under appointment of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford Jr.[10] In 1925, Sterling's daughter Mildred married the prominent architect Wyatt C. Hedrick of Fort Worth.
Sterling's former house, built about 1910, was moved in 1999 from 106 Westheimer Road to the intersection of Bagby and Rosalie to undergo restoration.