The Old Alabama Town Cotton Gin

Montgomery, Alabama

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Photographs by Robin McDonald Graphic Design RMcDGD@aol.com Leeds, AL All Old Alabama Gin Photos on this site are the Property & Copyright of Robin McDonald

THE OLD PLANTATION GINS, once commonplace across Alabama, are gone, as are the sturdy men who crewed them. Very little physical evidence of this colorful part of Alabama's past has been preserved. The rare two-stand cotton gin and press, built on the Pratt and Munger patents of the 1880's and fully restored to its original condition at Old Alabama Town in Montgomery, Alabama, may be unique.

Built in the first decade of the twentieth century by the newly formed Continental Gin Company of Prattville, this plantation gin was originally located in a once-thriving Montgomery County community known as Teasley's Mill. The Gin was one of the first fully automated or "through and through" gins, meaning that the machinery could process cotton from wagon to finished bale in one building and in one continuous process without the intervention of human hands.

After the gin became obsolete in the 1940s, it stood idle for nearly fifty years before it was dismantled and removed to Old Alabama Town by Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery in 1990. Over the next two years, the machinery was carefully restored to its original condition and reassembled in a replica of the original ginhouse. The restoration was finished in time for the bicentennial of the first patent on a cotton gin, granted to Eli Whitney in 1794.

Although the machinery was restored to running condition, this turn-of-the-century gin is not operated due to safety considerations, the necessity of a boiler to generate steam for the engine, and the fact that this simple gin cannot handle today's trash-filled, machine-picked cotton.

Tours start from the Education and Reception Center located at 301 Columbus Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: Local 334.240.4500 Fax 334.240.4519  Toll free 1.888.240.1850

 Web Site: www.oldalabamatown.com    

   Weighing cotton at the gin, c1908. To determine the weight of a load of cotton, gin operators weighed the wagon twice- once loaded with cotton, once empty.  (Courtesy of the Landmarks Foundation) 

Information taken from the Alabama Heritage magazine, with permission © 1995-2000 University of Alabama. 

A Personal Note: This Historic Project could not have been possible without the perseverance of Mr. Tommy Oliver and the support of the working craftsmen, staff and supporters of the Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery. The Cotton Gin was the beginning of many communities in the south. and without projects like the Old Alabama Town Gin, pieces of our heritage would be lost forever.

*The above button for the 1900 Gin estimate shows a 4 gin outfit. The Old Alabama Gin is a two gin outfit.

05/09/2007