Captain John L. Inglis began the Florida Manufacturing Company in this area in 1874. The plant ginned as many as 10,000 bales of Sea Island Long Staple Cotton in one year, and the thread was widely used for general purposes and for making English broadcloth. J.& P. Coats acquired the plant in 1890, and the compression of seed was later added to the ginning and baling of cotton. Activities ended with the coming of the Mexican Boll Weevil in 1916, and this warehouse is the only remaining building of the manufacturing complex.