McKinney Cotton Mill Historic District

The McKinney Cotton Mill Historic District is a remarkably intact industrial and residential complex that is centered around a 1910 cotton textile mill. Although the mill closed in 1969 and was converted into a furniture factory, the workers' housing that was built in the 1910s and 1920s remains. Similar complexes are found frequently in the eastern United States, but relatively few were built in Texas. This historic district represents, perhaps, the state's finest example of such a "planned neighborhood" and is being nominated at a state level of significance. Only three post-1936 structures have been erected within the district's boundaries and some recently completed additions have been built onto the old mill. The uniform scale, plan, form, materials, and siting of the houses add greatly to the visual cohesiveness of the district. The most "intrusive" element is the overall dilapidated condition of the houses. Empty lots, which once were the site of dwellings, also detract from the historic character and architectural integrity of the district. Yet a total of 70 contributing structures stand in the district, with only three noncontributing buildings within its boundaries.

While Texas produced much of the nation's cotton during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, few textile mills were ever constructed in the state. This plant, which was built primarily with local financial support, was established in 1910 and operated until 1969. It stands today as a vivid reminder of the extremely important role that cotton played in McKinney's as well as the state's history and development. This district is, perhaps, the most intact early twentieth-century factory and workers' housing complex in Texas. Similar ones once stood in such towns as Waxahachie and Cuero, but almost all of the workers' housing in these locations have been demolished.

The following paragraphs, which present the history and significance of this textile plant, are copied from the historic context entitled "Processing of Agricultural in McKinney."

With the success of the local cotton trade during the early twentieth century, business leaders of Mckinney worked to establish a community-owned and operated textile mill. These individuals believed enough cotton was grown in the area and sufficient capital was available locally to support such an operation. They also reasoned that a textile mill would boost the town's economy by providing jobs for area residents, encourage other industries and factories to locate in McKinney, and also enable more of the profits from the harvesting and processing of locally grown cotton to remain in the community. J. Perry Burrus, who had attained great wealth with his ownership of the McKinney Mill and Elevator Company and other flour mills throughout the state, spearheaded the effort. On November 24, 1909 plans for the establishment of the $200,000 Lone Star Mill Company were announced in the McKinney Daily-Gazette. The original board of directors included the city's most influential and financially successful individuals. They were W. B. Newsome, J. L. White, George Wilcox, J. L. Lovejoy, L. A. Scott, E. W. Kirkpatrick, John H. Ferguson, and T. B. Wilson. Other board members elected to head the company were J. Perry Burrus, president, S. D. Heard, first vice president, and J. P. Crouch, second vice president.

While the plant was under construction, local newspapers closely monitored its progress. The mill, whose name was soon changed to the Texas Cotton Mill Company, began operations on November 1, 1910, and, according to local historians, was reputed to be one of only two mills west of the Mississippi River that manufactured colored-print cloth. The plant included 5000 spindles and 160 looms within a massive one- and two-story brick building. During this initial construction phase, the mill's owners also erected 17 workers' "cottages" to the south of the factory. The entire mill complex stood adjacent to a large cotton field, just beyond the city limits. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad serviced the factory.

The Texas Cotton Mill Company, proving an immediate financial success, increased its capacity and included 11,172 spindles and 376 looms by 1917. At that time, it was one of only 14 mills in the state. Company founders no doubt beamed with pride after the 1920 census indicated that the city experienced one of its largest growth rates during the previous decade, due largely to the locally owned textile factory. With a workforce that eventually totaled more than 520, the McKinney mill brought many new residents to the town. As Evertt Lloyd noted in Farm and Ranch magazine, "probably 90 percent of the labor employed in the Texas mills came from other states".

J. E. Cooper, a prominent local contractor, completed a $200,000 expansion to the mill in 1926. During this construction phase, Cooper built a two-story addition onto the building's east side and also erected more workers' houses. By 1927 the entire plant complex included the mill, an office building, three warehouses, a water tower, a cooling pond, and a concrete-lined reservoir. A boarding house, meeting hall, and more than 50 single-family, workers' dwellings stood directly south of the plant, while another 25 houses were located to the north.

The area around the factory soon became known as Mill Town, which functioned as an almost separate community within McKinney. Independently owned stores, which catered to workers who lived nearby, opened along the 300 and 400 blocks of Millwood (now Elm) Street, across the street from the mill.

The Texas Textile Mill, as it was eventually known, operated for almost six decades before closing in 1969. One factor that contributed to its demise was a 1948 tornado that struck the plant and nearby properties. The storm caused two deaths (a remarkably small number considering its severity), many injuries, and approximately $3,000,000 worth of damage. Although the factory was rebuilt, its operations never completely recovered. The popularity of synthetic textiles after World War II also added to the plant's miseries. A Waco-based textile company eventually purchased the factory, and on January 1, 1969, the McKinney plant closed and much of its equipment was shipped to the company's Waco plant. A furniture manufacturer bought the facility that same year and began operations which continue today.