BLUFF CITY -- WHEN COTTON WAS KING

Trading Took Place Here Until 1970s

Memphis, TN was founded on the cotton trade. The Cotton Museum displayed how time and mechanization have changed the way cotton is harvested.  The museum consists of the main lobby, a room with authentic artifacts, and a science/technology room. The exhibits, artifacts, oral histories and archival footage present how Memphis was founded as a shipping port for cotton and slaves in 1819.

Beautiful Art Deco Decor in Lobby

This building was built for the trading and exchange of cotton. Wealthy old men made and lost fortunes speculating on the price of cotton.  The Exchange was originally a private social club with a huge yearly fee to join.

Pricing Board Display Covers Entire Wall 

There is a life-size figure on a ladder "writing" changes on a chalkboard.  The room is similar to the old cotton exchange room.

Original Phone Booths in Exchange

500# Cotton Bale

Cotton was graded fair to middling. This is a Deep South term (originally used by the British and Scots) for okay, fair enough, alright that refers to gradations of quality in cotton and other commodities.

Boll Weevils Are Size of Ladybugs

The boll weevil is a destructive beetle that infests cotton plants. The adult has a long snout that it uses to puncture the buds and bolls (seed pods) and lays eggs in them. The insect crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville, TX to enter the U.S. from Mexico in 1892 and devastated cotton crops in the U. S. until the 1920s. Boll weevils have been eradicated in most states by use of pesticides.

Symbol for U. S. Grown Cotton

"Gin" is the abbreviated version of the word engine. Photos described the cotton plant: who knew it had a white flower, then a pink flower, and finally the boll (containing the cotton) formed.

Memphis Skyline

Where Blues Musicians Gather

No Vehicles Allo