Visiting the Cotton Museum in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, is an opportunity to tread in the steps of legendary Memphians and the shapers of the first burgeoning international economy. The floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange is where cotton traders once stood in the center of the global cotton market. Once, only the elite members of the Cotton Exchange were allowed to enter. Today, this historic space is open to the public and is devoted to sharing the story of the crop that changed the world.
The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange represents the only place in the State of Tennessee dedicated to the story of cotton – a story that is central to an understanding of the history of our region, our nation, and the world economy.
Did You Know?
– In 1793, when the cotton gin was invented, the South exported only 974 bales of cotton. Only about 4% of clothing in the US and Europe was made of cotton. Today, 75% of the world’s clothing contains at least some amount of cotton.
– By 1860, cotton had become central to the world’s economy. Well over half of US exports were cotton.
– This increase in the demand for cotton caused a dramatic expansion in slavery. The 1790 census reported slightly less than 700,000 slaves in the United States. Fifty years later, there were over 4 million enslaved people in the United States.
– Historians agree that the Industrial Revolution powered by cotton was the most important event in world history.
– The Memphis Cotton Exchange was the largest market for cotton trading in the world for over fifty years.
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