A steam engine in Elgin, Texas, loaded with cotton bales for transport. Courtesy of the City of Elgin.
The cotton culture in Bastrop County was a significant part of the county’s economic history. The introduction of cotton cultivation began in the 1740s, brought to the region by Spanish missionaries. By the 1830s, cotton had become the principal crop, and by 1850, the county produced about 1,500 bales of cotton. The cotton industry was a major contributor to the county’s economy.
The cotton culture in Bastrop County was also marked by the presence of African American slaves, who worked the cotton fields. The county’s population grew significantly between 1850 and 1860, with a peak of 7,006 residents and 2,248 slaves making up almost a third of the total. The cotton industry’s growth was also influenced by the development of railroads and the introduction of barbed wire, which further stimulated the industry.
The cotton industry in Bastrop County is a testament to the county’s role in the early development of the cotton industry in Texas and its impact on the region’s economy and society.
Bastrop, Texas
The T.C. Osborn Farm was located approximately 1,300 feet east of the juncture of Gill Branch and the Colorado River, along the path of present-day Lovers Lane, just south of State Highway 71. This text examines the transformation of T.C. Osborn Farm, that encompassed 327 acres of fertile bottomland and was historically significant as it was occupied by tenant families from being worked by African American slaves to being supported through tenant farming by Mexican American families from 1906 to 1941. It highlights the discovery in 1987 of what could be the earliest examination of a Mexican American tenant farm when a small board-and-batten house was found at the end of a planned roadway in Bastrop. Researchers discovered that the farm’s history spanned over 100 years and involved six families: Castleman, Jones, Osborn, Gonzalez, Martinez, and Garcia.
RESOURCES:
Texas Beyond History, Osborn Farm: Mexican-American Sharecropping in the Early Twentieth Century https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/osborn/index.html
Index of Texas Archeology, The T.C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314: An Early Sharecropper Site in Bastrop County, Texas https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2001/iss1/10/
Elgin, Texas
Elgin’s cotton history is deeply intertwined with the region’s agricultural development and the economic growth of the city. The introduction of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in the early 19th century revolutionized cotton production, making it more efficient and allowing for greater scale. This innovation was particularly impactful in Texas, where it led to a significant increase in cotton production. The establishment of railroads in the late 19th century further transformed the cotton industry by connecting farms to markets, reducing transportation costs, and improving the efficiency of cotton transport. Elgin’s role as a cotton production center was further solidified by the establishment of cotton gins and oil mills, contributing to the city’s prosperity and economic development.
The year 1900 produced a bumper crop of cotton, and Elgin prospered. Elgin rapidly became the most important agricultural center in Bastrop County. Five cotton gins and a cotton oil mill were in operation at the same time.
RESOURCES:
City of Elgin, Texas, Our History, https://www.elgintexas.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7
Red Rock, Texas
Red Rock was described in 1879 as a “thriving village”. Five years later, it had a population of 150, a steam gristmill, and a cotton gin. Around 1890 the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad extended its line, and the community moved a mile to meet it. Red Rock then had 200 people, the gristmill and gin, three general stores, a drugstore, and a dry goods store.
The early years of the twentieth century brought a wave of growth to the community. A 1909 newspaper estimated the population at 500 and called Red Rock “a splendid cotton market.” The town had a bank with assets close to $60,000, and the cotton gin processed 2,500 bales annually.
RESOURCES:
Texas State Historical Association, History of Red Rock, Texas: From Settlement to Modern Day https://tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/red-rock-tx-bastrop-county
Pictures on this page “Cotton” were provided by the Rockne Historical Association & Museum, in Rockne, Texas.
Picture of Beck Family of Red Rock, Texas, picking cotton. Little Albert, Frederick (Msgr F. O. Beck), Leo, Sylvester, unknown, Uncle Albert and Father Lenzen.
Picture at Red Rock Gin Company 1927 of Joe R. Goertz and sons, Reynold and Benedict.