Image courtesy of humblegraphics
Posted on 12/26/2009 6:33:27 PM PST by DGHoodini
Just a quick question, that I am pretty sure I already know the answer to, but have a nagging doubt about:
Was cotton ever a cash crop in Texas?
I keep thinking 'No', but as I said, I'm getting a little voice in my head saying:"it might'a been...".
Anyone know the answer?
Image courtesy of humblegraphics
you seem to know ...I would think that under irrigation its two crops a year...almost three?
The fire hydrants may have been from 1865.
The whole panhandle of Texas is cotton and oil, and more recently, vineyards!
First hit on google. “texas cotton production”
http://cotton.tamu.edu/cottoncountry.htm
“Texas leads the U.S. in cotton production and it is our leading cash crop, ranking only behind the beef and nursery industries in total cash receipts. In 2000, growers produced over 4 million bales, representing over $1 billion to the Texas cotton industry. Texas annually produces about 25% of the entire U.S. crop and plants over 6 million acres! That’s over 9,000 square miles of cotton fields.”
was and still is.
That was true, ante-bellum when cotton had to move to market via the southern river systems and required slave labor. However, post Civil War, Texas discovered this little thing called the Ogalalla Acquifer out in West Texas. They growed alot of cotton with that water
You can google it for more detailed info, but the short answer is “Yes, before during and even after the Civil War, cotton was a cash crop for Texas.” A very important one, too, for the Confederacy.
Still is.
When I was in college (Colorado) we used to go to the local dump (long before land fills) and shoot rats with .22 longs and shorts. Hard to do. Then we tried .38 and .45 hand guns. A bit better. Finally the 12 gauge really did the trick.
I am sure Florida is not a top cotton producer but when I was a kid, I picked cotton for 3 cents a pound. I used to work with a younger guy who grew up in Texas and he picked cotton as a kid too.
The main difference is he said they picked the boll and all.
We had to pick the cotton out of the boll and those bolls would prick your fingers or at least irritate them after they had opened and dried.
BTW, there is a large cotton field not far from where I am at right now in NW Florida.
Those cotton warehouses where there for a longtime. Some still standing five years ago when I last past through. Did he knock the last standing down.
Yeah, my mom talked about absolutely hating picking cotton.
Heck yes. My neighborhood has several hundred acres of cotton growing about 150 yards from my front door.
Cotton’s been big here for a long time...
Back in the 50s my buddy and I were shooting rats at the dump and we both came close to dying that night. He because a rat ran up his pant leg and me because I was ROTGLMAO!!!
Yeah, those bolls get hard as a pecan shell and stick right in the cuticle or under the finger nail when you try to pluck the cotton out. Fortunately, hardly anyone picks cotton by hand anymore.
Yes, “King Cotton” reigned here! Many of the little towns across Texas were connected by the trains that carried the cotton to bigger cities—when other means of transportation came along (air)
many of those little towns just dried up and withered away.
I have friends in east Texas who remember working in the fields harvest cotton and how hard it was in the hot weather.
http://www.texasescapes.com/Cotton/Cotton.htm
http://dkc.esc20.net/pdfs/Texas_Heritage/Secondary_Instructional_Recipe3_Boom_and_Bust_Farming7.pdf
I grew up in West Texas and there are cotton fields everywhere. It is definitely a cash crop.
“
Was cotton ever a cash crop in Texas?
“
In case it hasn’t been mentioned on the thread, I do recall there was
a common expression for parts of Texas:
“The darkest soil, the whitest cotton!”
It was/is a major crop and research subject at Texas A&M.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.