Corsicana Cotton Mill Census, 1901-1961

by John C. Barron

Introduction

The following table is a census of some of the people who were employed at the Corsicana Cotton Mill during the years 1901 to 1961. The mill began operations in 1900 and closed in 1968. The census was constructed by reading selected Corsicana City Directories and extracting those persons that were said to be employed at the mill. The following years were used: 1901, 1913, 1922, 1931, 1941, 1951, and 1961.

No doubt some folks were missed due to the tediousness of the process as well as possible mistakes in the directory in recording a person’s place of employment, but every effort was made to make the census as correct as possible. Naturally, many people who worked at the mill were omitted if they had not worked during one of the selected census years. It is surprising though just how many people are listed in two, three, and even four different decades. For instance, Joe Gibbs, Clem Boyte, and numerous others appear in four of the census years. And while that is impressive, Errol C. Sears appeared in five different decades starting in 1922 until 1961.

The city directories contained the following information: name, job and place of employment, and address. In addition to this, the wives of men were listed as well as the husband’s name of widow women. Also the 1941 city directory listed both wives and children. Special appreciation is extended to Mr. Joe Baumgartner for giving me access to his personal copy of the 1913 city directory. The other directories can be found in the Genealogy Room at the Corsicana Public Library.