November 4, 2023
THE COTTON MUSEUM AT THE MEMPHIS COTTON EXHCNAGE
65 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38103
“The Cotton Museum, located in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., is an historical and cultural museum that opened in March 2006 on the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis.” - Wikipedia
This small museum was full of a lot of information about the cotton industry. Housed inside the room that held the Memphis Cotton Exchange, the museum combined a mix of artifacts, photos, and video to describe the evolution of the cotton industry and the role Memphis played throughout history. It was a good way to fill an hour.
The Cotton Museum
The Memphis Cotton Exchange
The Western Union office. Telegrams were the fastest means of communication at the time.
Telephone booths
Photograph of men working on the exchange floor.
To pass time members of the Cotton Exchange played dominos.
From 1939-1993, the National Cotton Council crowned a "Maid of Cotton" as part of Memphis' Cotton Carnival festivities.
The Cotton Carnival was based on Mardi Gras.
The blues can be traced to the cotton fields.
10 Saw Eagle Cotton Gin. "Gin" is a shortened word for "engine"--a Cotton Engine.
A bale of cotton.
Lobby of the Cotton Exchange is still pretty elegant. The Exchange is an exclusive club.
This room had displays that told the story of cotton from seeds to manufacturing.