Burton, Texas - Burton Cotton Gin and Museum

This huge machine, housed in a corrugated tin building, was built in 1914 and stands as part of central Texas' cotton farming history. That history involves not only pre-Civil War plantations but also, after the mid-1800s, thousands of working class German and Czech immigrant farmers and African-American cotton pickers. This cotton gin operated commercially until 1974 and it still runs, though now only during special events like the Burton Cotton Gin Festival in mid-April. However, the museum guides visitors throughout the structure during scheduled daily tour times. If you're lucky, one of your tour guides will be Grover Williams, the only surviving operator of the Burton Cotton Gin during its heyday. [Lalena Fisher, 04/27/2007]

[RA: "Gin temperatures reach over 110 degrees during the summer months... gin tours are offered only at 10 AM during June - August." It must have been a difficult place to work....]