226 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



THE COTTON INDUSTRY OF SOUTHERN 

 ILLINOIS 



Frank H. Colyer, State Normal University, 

 Carbondale 



cotton growing an early industry in illinois 



While the exact date of the first cotton grown in Illi- 

 nois is perhaps unknown, yet it conld not have been many 

 years after the first permanent English settlements. As 

 proof of this, Governor John Reynolds, in speaking of 

 the early cotton industry in Illinois says: "The first 

 gin was established in 1813.' n This statement of Rey- 

 nolds is in complete accord with that of J. M. Peck, who 

 wrote his Gazetteer of Illinois in 1837. In this book 

 Peck says : ' ' Cotton, for many years, has been success- 

 fully cultivated in this state (Illinois) for domestic use, 

 and this branch of business admits of enlargement; and 

 invites the attention of eastern manufacturers with 

 small capital." 2 Peck further states: "A few factories 

 for spinning cotton yarn have been put into operation 

 in several counties on a small scale of from one hundred 

 to two hundred spindles each." 3 



H. L. Ellsworth in his book, "Illinois In 1837," makes 

 this significant statement concerning early cotton manu- 

 factures in Illinois: "Coarse clothing from cotton is 

 manufactured in the southern portion of the state, where 

 the article is raised in small quantities. Woolen cloth, 

 and jeans, a mixture of wool and cotton, is made for 

 ordinary wear, as is cloth from flax." 4 From these 

 early writers it is clear that cotton was not merely grown 

 in Illinois at a very early date, but cotton yarn and cotton 

 cloth were made for commercial purposes in addition to 

 that made and consumed in the homes of the early set- 

 tlers. 



It is also quite probable that available statistics do not 

 show the entire amount of cotton raised, for the reports 

 show the amount of lint by bales. Baled cotton was for 



1 Reynolds, John: Pioneer History of Illinois. Page 398. 



2 Pock. J. M. : Gazetteer of Illinois. Page 22. 



3 Peck, J. M. : Gazetteer of Illinois. Page 32. 



4 Ellsworth, H. L. : Illinois in 1837. Page 59. 



