Cotton Production in Runnels County
Winters, Runnels County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1884, when most of Runnels County was range for livestock, R.F. Counts (1838-1892) planted an experimental cotton field near this site. His success encouraged other area farmers, who raised 88 bales in 1888. First cotton gin in the nearby town of Content was a converted corn and flour mill. C.W. Miller and C.E. Woodrow built a new gin (1 mile northeast) about 1897. The county had about 40 gins to process its peak harvest of 78,172 bales in 1932. Cotton boosted property values in this area and remains a principal crop.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1884, when most of Runnels County was open livestock range, R. F. Counts planted an experimental cotton field near this spot. His success inspired neighbors, who raised 88 bales by 1888, and the crop spread quickly — the first local gin was a converted corn and flour mill, and by 1932 the county's roughly 40 gins processed a peak harvest of more than 78,000 bales. Cotton lifted land values and became a defining crop of the region.
Why it matters
This marker captures the pivotal shift from ranching to row-crop farming that transformed West Texas, showing how a single experimental field could remake a county's economy.
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Related people
- · R. F. Counts
- · C. W. Miller
- · C. E. Woodrow
Themes & tags
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