Picker House and Dye House

Picker House and Dye House. Glencoe. , 2. Picker House , After drivers delivered bales of raw cotton to Glencoe, the first step in transforming it to woven cloth took place in the Picker House. Men unpacked the cotton from the bales and removed such debris as twigs, leaves, and bugs. To reduce risk of fire from cotton dust and debris, the Picker House was separated from the mill. The men fed the raw cotton into the breaker lapper, which beat and drew out the cotton fibers to clean it and form the raw fiber into "laps" - loosely matted cotton sheets about three to four feet wide. , 3. Dye House , In this brick building workers dyed and dried cotton for Glencoe's trademark plaid and striped fabrics. A skilled dye-master oversaw the mixing of coloring agents according to secret formulas. Men in the "dye room" at the north end of the building lowered wooden racks of raw cotton into the two huge metal boilers containing hot dyes. In the "dry room" at the southern end, men placed the racks of dyed cotton into a large centrifugal dryer that whirled the fiber to remove the moisture. A steam engine and later electricity powered the dye house operation. Records show that between 1902 to 1910 the workers dyed from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds of cotton per week.