Cotton Cards Factory

Near this site from 1862 to 1865, a factory owned by Joseph Eubank, Jr., used power from the San Gabriel River to make cotton cards during Confederate Texas's re-tooling of its agricultural economy to meet Civil War demands. As trading bales of cotton for finished cloth was no longer practical and textiles had to be made at home, Texas imported thousands of cotton cards through neutral Mexico at costs of $4 to $20 a pair; these stiff brushes made fluffy cotton into firm, smooth batts to be spun into yarn or thread, quilted, or made into mattresses. Governor F. R. Lubbock's administration also acted to have cards made in Texas in factories such as this one. Heavy military demands, with 90,000 Texas men under arms and a 2,000 mile coastline-frontier to guard, together with reduced imports, drove rapid industrial expansion. Arms and munitions plants were built, land grants encouraged production, private effort supplied vital goods for military and civilian populations, Confederate quartermasters established depots and shops for military goods, and increased production of salt and king cotton helped secure scarce items, making Texas a storehouse for the Confederacy.

Texas · United States