"Brown Cotton Gin." Photograph by Martin J. Dain, 1961.
In the early 1900s, Oxford had a large cotton industry. There were three gins surrounding the Square, and several more were scattered throughout the county. On days when cotton was being ginned, Oxford would be covered with a fine white dust. Brown’s Gin, the last in town, closed in 1966.
“Growing up in Oxford in the 1950s, the air was thick with the delicious smell of the seed fires during ginning season.” —Mike Talbert
“The cotton lint covered The Square, it slowly floated down like snow every fall. The kids all loved it.” —Laura Peddle Sale
