Wattsville Gin
McMahan, Caldwell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
From about 1880 to the early 1920s, residents of Wattsville, Hall and other nearby towns used a cotton gin located here. Brothers Zechariah John and Thomas Watts settled the area ca. 1855, building the gin and also a general store and blacksmith shop. A man-made dirt dam, later known as the gin tank, collected rain water to power the gin, which was used to bale cotton and also to grind corn and cottonseed. After John's death, his wife, Ada, applied for and received licenses from the state and federal governments to operate the gin, becoming one of few women to do so. Today, the remaining gin tank serves as a reminder of the vital role of the Wattsville gin and the Watts family in developing this area of Caldwell County. (2010)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
From about 1880 into the early 1920s, a cotton gin on this spot served Wattsville and the neighboring farm towns of Caldwell County. Brothers Zechariah John and Thomas Watts had settled the area around 1855 and built the gin along with a store and blacksmith shop, powering the machinery with rainwater held behind a man-made dirt dam known as the gin tank. After John's death his wife, Ada, secured state and federal licenses to run the gin herself — one of the few women of her day to do so — and the surviving gin tank still marks the site.
Why it matters
Cotton gins were the economic engine of the rural South, and Ada Watts's licensed operation of one is a notable example of a woman running frontier industry in her own name.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Zechariah John Watts
- · Thomas Watts
- · Ada Watts
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Edgar B. Davis, Oil Pioneer-Philanthropist
Luling, TX
Edgar B. Davis came to Luling after careers in Massachusetts shoe manufacturing and overseas rubber planting, and in 1922 his wildcat gamble brought in the Luling Oil Field — 215 producing wells by 1926. Rather than simply pocketing the fortune, he handed his employees $2,500,000 in bonuses and endowed the Luling Foundation to advance agriculture and opportunity in the area. Its work in soil conservation and crop and livestock improvement carried his vision forward, and he remained in the community until his death.
First Christian Church of Luling
Luling, TX
The congregation grew from the initiative of Eula Nichols, who moved to Luling in 1891 to attend school and persuaded Rev. A.J. Bush to hold a revival there in 1892. Out of that meeting First Christian Church was organized under resident minister Rev. G.S. Kimberly, worshiping for decades in the lower level of a local Masonic lodge. A 1947 sanctuary burned and was rebuilt in 1979 as the church carried on its youth and outreach work.
City of Luling
Luling, TX
Luling sprang up in 1874 where the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad crossed a main wagon road, drawing in whole communities and a relocated post office and chartering as a city that September. As the railroad's terminus into 1875 it boomed with shipping, drifters, and a reputation as a tough town before churches and schools settled it down. A 1922 oil strike opened a new chapter, with scores of producing wells drilled inside the city limits.
The Fritz Zedler Home
Luling, TX
Born in Germany in 1840, Fritz Zedler came to Texas as a boy and, after moving to Luling in 1884, built up the thriving enterprise known as Zedler's Mill. In 1900 he raised this ten-room, four-porch house from his own plans, a monument to his prosperity. It stayed in the family until 1964 and was later bought and carefully restored, earning recognition as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.