Old Alabama Town Cotton Gin - Montgomery, AL - Mills and Gins on Waymarking.com

Old Alabama Town covers some four blocks in Montgomery. It is the home to restored buildings that have been moved to this location to serve as a museum of Alabama life in the 1800s. The cotton gin was one of their projects. It had ceased operation by 1942. When the owner was getting ready to demolish it in the 1980s, two Old Alabama Town supporters acquired it and arranged for it to be stored until it could be moved and rebuilt on the current site in the Working Block. The gin was opened in 1993, in time to celebrate the bicentennial of Eli Whitney's cotton gin. This particular gin was run by a steam engine.

The following history of the gin comes from "Old Alabama Town: An Illustrated Guide" by Mary Ann Neeley (ISBN 0-8173-1179-3) (pp. 70-72):

"Originally erected at Teasley's Mill in southeast Montgomery County about 1900, this "plantation gin," operated first by Chappell Gray Sr. and later by his son, consists of two gin-stands composed of eighty saws that pulled the lint from the seed. Other components carried out essential functions as the cotton progressed from individual bolls to bale. Another vital aspect of the process was the saving of the seeds that were necessary for the next planting as well as for fertilizer, cattle feed, and a variety of other uses.

When operating at full capacity, the gin averaged two bales an hour. Owners ginned their own crop and that of nearby farmers who brought the cotton in mule-drawn wagons. After ginning, 1,500 pounds of the staple produced a 500-pound bale and 1,000 pounds of seed. The cotton picking season at that period extended from mid-August to mid-November and during the peak times, this gin's five-man crew sometimes worked through the night. (Now the season can extend until Christmas because of new strains of cotton.)

This gin shut down in 1942, perhaps because of World War II and lack of help, but several factors contributed to the closing of small, two-stand gins of this type: larger, more commercial operations could handle the job more efficiently and, too, there was a steady postwar decline in the cultivation of cotton."

Year built?: 1900 Is the mill or gin still in operation?: No What is or was processed here?: cotton Are tours available?: Yes, on a regular basis. How is or was it powered?: steam Related link to this waymark.: Not listed What is it used as today?: Not listed

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