Gasoline Cotton Gin
Quitaque, Briscoe County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Cotton farmers began settling in this area in 1903. A water well was dug in 1906, attracting more farmers and increasing crop production. Because the nearest cotton gin was ten miles away in Turkey, three partners (M.E. Tomson, J.H. Clack, and L.A. McCracken) bought a gasoline-powered engine and built a gin at this site. The first bale of cotton was ginned in April 1907. The presence of the gin led to the development of a town named Gasoline. The town declined after the railroad bypassed it in 1927 and the gin was destroyed in a 1938 fire. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Cotton farmers began settling this High Plains area in 1903, and a new water well in 1906 drew still more. With the nearest gin ten miles away in Turkey, three partners bought a gasoline-powered engine and built their own gin here, ginning the first bale in April 1907. The gin gave rise to a town literally named Gasoline, which withered after the railroad bypassed it in 1927; the gin itself burned in 1938.
Why it matters
The rise and fall of Gasoline captures how a single piece of farm machinery could conjure a town onto the plains — and how the routing of a railroad could just as quickly doom it.
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Related people
- · M. E. Tomson
- · J. H. Clack
- · L. A. McCracken
Themes & tags
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