The Burton Farmers Gin Association was formed on December 2, 1913, by 13 local farmers who believed Burton, Texas, needed a third cotton gin. They built a Robert Munger system gin that used suction and moving air to carry cotton from the wagon through each stage until it was wrapped and banded at the bale press box, reducing processing time from hours to minutes. The group sold 200 shares at $50 each and raised $10,000 to construct a two-story cypress building covered with corrugated tin, equipped with a steam engine and boiler from the Beaumier Iron Works of Brenham, Texas, and four Lummus 80-saw stands later expanded to five. Built by brothers Edward and Will Weeren of Burton, the gin opened on August 3, 1914, with Carl Dallmeyer as its first manager. In 1925, the association replaced the steam engine with a Bessemer Type IV oil engine from Grove City, Pennsylvania, built a new engine room and upstairs manager's office, and spent $7,800 on the engine, fuel tank, piping, pillar blocks, engine room, and freight charges. Known as the Lady B, the Bessemer powered the gin for 38 years until an Allis-Chalmers electric motor replaced it in 1963, and it remained as backup power until the gin closed at the end of the 1974 ginning season. The gin operated continuously for 61 years, producing 51,899 bales of cotton for Burton-area farmers, with a daily capacity of 50 to 60 bales at five bales per hour, or one bale every 12 minutes. Its highest seasonal output was 1,680 bales in 1953, and its lowest was seven bales in 1974. Only six men served as gin manager in 60 years: Carl Dallmeyer, Henry Dieckmeyer, William Wehring, John Meyer, Henry C. Wehring, and Herbert Kunkel.