Kiker's Gin
Dublin vicinity, Erath County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1873, several families, including the Cannons, Howells, Kikers, Mayfields, Strongs and Whitfields, came to the Green’s Creek Community. John M. Kiker arrived from Alabama with his wife, Serena Rhonda (Howell), and their eight children. They first lived near Waco before moving here. In 1878, Kiker and his brother-in-law, John Holcomb, built a steam-powered cotton gin fueled by timber cleared from farmers’ cotton fields and used as credit for their ginning bills. Later the gin engine was coal- and then oil-burning. Kiker’s gin was the main commercial enterprise in the community and served as an election precinct and community meeting place. The Kikers donated land for a church, and the gin remained in operation until 1947. Descendants of early families still live in the area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1873 several families settled the Green's Creek community, among them John M. Kiker, who arrived from Alabama with his wife Serena and their eight children. In 1878 Kiker and his brother-in-law John Holcomb built a steam-powered cotton gin, fueled at first by timber cleared from cotton fields and taken as credit against ginning bills, and later by coal and then oil. The gin was the community's main enterprise and doubled as an election precinct and meeting place, running until 1947.
Why it matters
Kiker's Gin illustrates how the cotton gin anchored the economy and civic life of countless rural Texas communities from Reconstruction into the mid-20th century.
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Related people
- · John M. Kiker
- · Serena Rhonda Howell Kiker
- · John Holcomb
Themes & tags
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