Site of Ezell-McLeroy Cotton Gin
Alvarado, Johnson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Ezell (1857-1933) and his family moved from Alabama to Texas in 1867 and settled on a farm near here. The growth of cotton crops increased in Johnson County by the 1890s, and the need for more cotton gins became acute. In 1896 Ezell built a cotton gin on his land located halfway between the communities of Alvarado and Cahill; it became a major business in rural Johnson County. Although the cotton gin with its wooden siding was destroyed in an 1899 fire, Ezell rebuilt before the 1900 season began and installed new equipment. Cotton production continued to expand in the area and Ezell became a successful gin owner and farmer. J. Otto McLeroy, Sr. (1883-1966) took over operations at the gin in 1917, and it became known as the McLeroy Gin. Cotton buyers were attracted to Alvarado by two rail lines that intersected there, bound for major cotton markets in Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco. The McLeroy Gin continued to operate through the 1920s and 1930s, and finally closed in 1948. The building housing the cotton gin burned in 1953, destroying the remnants of a once-thriving business. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As cotton spread across Johnson County in the 1890s, John Ezell built a gin on his land midway between Alvarado and Cahill in 1896, and it quickly became a major rural enterprise. Fire destroyed it in 1899, but Ezell rebuilt with new equipment before the next season. J. Otto McLeroy took over in 1917, and the gin—served by two rail lines carrying cotton to Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco—operated until 1948 before its building burned in 1953.
Why it matters
The gin's rise and fall trace the cotton economy that dominated rural Texas life and the railroads that tied local farms to distant markets.
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Related people
- · John Ezell
- · J. Otto McLeroy Sr.
Themes & tags
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