05. The Work of Cotton

Cotton production involved many steps including planting, thinning, picking, stomping, and ginning. Since picking cotton required a huge workforce, people of all ages were employed as pickers. At left, Horace Gilbert and Robert Mitchell take a moment to pose for a picture with their full cotton bags. At right, Clemente TorresAfter the cotton was picked it needed to be weighed. Workers were paid according to how many pounds of cotton they were able to pick. In the photo below left, pickers wait to weigh their bags filled with cotton picked that day. Below right, a truck loaded with bags stuffed with cotton prepares for a trip to the cotton gin