CottonCultureChapter8

By Manford Eugene Jones
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History.
University of New Mexico, 1939

Texas A&M University History Professor Dale Baum purchased a copy of this thesis from the university's library and contributed it to this site. It is used with permission of Manford Allen Jones, son of the author Manford Eugene Jones. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format by other organizations or individuals. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the written consent of Manford Allen Jones or contact Jane Keppler, Robertson County TXGenWeb coordinator.

CHAPTER VIII: CONCLUSION

The story of cotton along the central Brazos River is inextricably bound up with the glamorous history of Texas. From a time prior to the Civil War until the present, this region has seen a continuous struggle between man and the forces of nature.

To the pioneer, as usual, fell the hardest struggle, in which a veritable jungle was cleared and an outlet made to the seacoast market. The earliest planters did not have to contend with the Indian, as the cattlemen had come before them and had driven him westward.

Although the Civil War did not devastate the cotton farms of Texas as much as it did those in Georgia and other states, it left them in a chaotic and disorganized condition. The chief obstacle to progress prior to this time had been the lack of transportation facilities to move the cotton to market. By 1860, the Houston & Texas Central Railroad had been built from Houston north to Millican near the present Brazos bottom town of Bryan, Texas. In the years immediately following 1865, this railroad was extended north through the Brazos valley towns of Bryan, Hearne, and Calvert. The railroad veered east from the river at Calvert and thence to the prairie region of Texas. Each of these towns served as a northern terminus for the road for a brief period, at which time cotton would be freighted there from many miles and the town would have all the characteristics of a boom center. From 1870 until well past 1900 (excepting the panic of 1897) was the golden era in cotton production along the Brazos. Labor was cheap and plentiful, living expenses were low, and the price of cotton was relatively high. So, with the exception of the flood years, the Bottom farmers garnered substantial profits in cotton.

The very fertility of the bottom land has been a hindrance to such modern farm developments as the tractor, diversification, and soil conservation. There are many traditions here that will have to be swept aside before these improvements are secured.

The future for the Brazos bottom cotton farmer is full of promise in the following ways: flood control through a series of dams seems assured with the next decade; insect control is well established; cooperative marketing is on its way; and improved living conditions for the tenant and the day laborer are slowly but surely emerging.