Davis Cotton Gin [Photograph]
Name/Title
Davis Cotton Gin [Photograph]Description
1930s cabinet card depicting gin buildings with "DAVIS GIN" prominently marked on side of first building, "DAVIS GIN/ELECTRIC" painted on roof of second building. Car parked under overhang at left center, truck loaded with cotton bales backed up to center building, several cotton bales and horse-drawn farm wagon at right, with seven men standing at center. Online newspaper article indicated the gin had converted from steam to electric power in 1928.Context
As one of three Florence guns, W.R. Davis’s gin originally operated by steam power, which was produced by steam created by large boilers filled with water heated by cord wood. Many farmers spent the summer hauling wood to the gin. There were no trucks; wood was hauled in wagons drawn by horses, mules or oxen. This changed in late 1920s, when Florence gins converted to electricity to power their operations. A brief article appearing in the Aug. 30, 1928 issue of the Vidette included an observation made by the writer, after visiting both the Smart and Davis’ gins, “…these gins have installed electric power and modern machinery and you can hear the farmers cuss their mules, and ginning looks to easy.” In the July 25, 1946 issue of the Vidette reported that T.M. Williams bought out the W.R. Davis gin.Category
Cotton Culture
Agriculture, TSHA Categories