Rowden Cotton

ROWDEN COTTON

THE W.O. ROWDEN FAMILY MOVED FROM GURLEY, ALABAMA TO VAN ZANDT COUNTY IN 1895 AND, IN 1898, THE FAMILY MOVED TO THE H.H. CARMACK PLACE JUST AT THE OUTER EDGE OF WILLS POINT. CARMACK RECEIVED A COTTON BOLL FROM A FRIEND IN FLORIDA AND GAVE IT TO ROWDEN. HE PLANTED NINE SEEDS THAT FOLLOWING APRIL WHICH YIELDED 25 POUNDS OF SEED COTTON. IN THE SPRING OF 1899, HE PLANTED ONE-HALF ACRE GATHERING 1133 POUNDS OF SEED COTTON AND ADDED 300 POUNDS OF ANOTHER TYPE OF COTTON TO MAKE A 549-POUND BALE. THE BUYER OF THE BALE SAID IT WAS ONE OF THE FINEST BALES HE HAD BOUGHT ALL SEASON. ROWDEN COTTON WAS INTRODUCED IN 1900. ROWDEN’S BROTHER, W.A. ROWDEN, CAME TO TEXAS IN 1902 AND THEY FORMED A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP.

FOUR YEARS LATER, ROWDEN COTTON WAS BROUGHT TO TOWN TO BE WEIGHED. THE COTTON PICKED FROM FORTY-FOUR BOLLS WEIGHED ONE POUND. OTHER VARIETIES OF COTTON TOOK 52 TO 56 BOLLS TO WEIGH ONE POUND. A FIRM IN STEPHENVILLE WROTE, “…ROWDEN BROS. HAVE DIRECTLY BENEFITED THE PLANTERS OF TEXAS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BY THEIR IMPROVED SEEDS.” SEED DEALERS REGULARLY SOLD OUT OF THE ROWDEN COTTON SEED WHICH RANKED SECOND WITH THE BEST VARIETIES PLANTED UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS AND SOLD ON AVERAGE OF 4 TO 5 CENTS MORE THAN OTHER COTTON. THE DECLINE OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY IN VAN ZANDT COUNTY WAS DUE TO ALLOTMENTS ESTABLISHED THAT REGULATED HOW MUCH COTTON A FARMER COULD PLANT. HOWEVER, BEFORE THE DECLINE, THE ROWDEN BROTHERS SHOWED FARMERS HOW TO IMPROVE THE VARIETY OF COTTON SEED, DEVELOPING ANY TYPE OF COTTON THAT THEY WISHED. THE REPUTATION OF THE ROWDEN SEED WAS WELL KNOWN ACROSS THE SOUTH AND ESPECIALLY IN TEXAS.