Apalachicola’s Cotton Era

Apalachicola’s Cotton Era. . At one time, cotton was king in Apalachicola. Less than 10 years after the town was established in 1831, Apalachicola reveled a cotton boom that lasted nearly 20 years and catapulted the town to rank as third largest cotton shipping port on the Gulf of Mexico. , , The City's claim to early success lies in its location to the mouth of the Apalachicola River. During the 1800s, nearly all of the country's cotton was produced within eight southern states and the Apalachicola River is one of three southern rivers that played a crucial role in getting the crop from farms to merchants and in the Northeast and Europe. , , Steamboats loaded with cotton from farms upriver jockeyed for place along the waterfront as the cargo was unloaded on the docks. From there, the cotton was weighed, compressed into shipping bales and stockpiled in warehouses, sold and reloaded onto shallow-draft schooners that ferried the cargo to larger ocean-going vessels waiting offshore. During Apalachicola's cotton era, mountains of "white gold" filled from the warehouses and clogged the streets which bustled with activity. , , Apalachicola exported its first bale of cotton in 1822. By 1836, 50,000 bales of cotton were being exported and Apalachicola had become known as the third largest cotton port on the Gulf of Mexico By 1840, more than 40 three-story brick and granite cotton warehouses lined the Apalachicola downtown waterfront. According to records, cotton production peaked in 1853 when an approximately 140,000 bales of cotton passed through the port of Apalachicola. , , During its heyday, Apalachicola was a cosmopolitan mixture of northerners, foreigners and businessmen come to make their fortunes in the shipping trade. During the town's cotton marketing season in the winter, the town's population swelled from approximately 1000 residents to several thousand. , , Apalachicola's cotton boom was not destined to last however. A combination of transportation challenges hampered Apalachicola's growth as a shipping port. The river itself was one factor. River travel was risky and often dangerous , unpredictable river conditions, fluctuating water levels and unforeseen snags sunk many a steamboat loaded with cargo. The steamboats themselves were also problematic , many were destroyed by explosions and fire or hampered by mechanical problems. However, the biggest obstacle to the growth of the shipping industry on the Apalachicola River came from the region's expanding road and rail line network. Rail line travel was faster and more reliable. By the early 1850s the railroad from Savannah had reached Columbus and began to siphon off the cotton to Atlantic ports. Riverboats stopped taking cotton downstream, carrying cargo instead upstream to Columbus. The Civil War and ensuing river blockades were also disruptive forces. , , Merchants in Apalachicola were well aware of the effect that the Columbus-Savannah Railroad was having on their trade but were never able to fully recover the industry. The end of the cotton era heralded the beginning of the lumber era in Franklin County. Several lumber mills were established in Apalachicola and along the river in the years right after the Civil War, although it would be the late 1870s before that industry flourished., (captions) , Above: The Harrison-Raney Cotton Warehouse is one of the two remaining granite and brick Greek revival buildings built along Apalachicola's Water Street when "Cotton Was King during the early 1800s. Today the City-owned building is used as the City's History. Culture and Art Center, featuring year-round art exhibits and cultural programs., Top Left: The paddlewheel steamboat Shamrock with cargo of cotton on the docks along the Apalachicola wharf. Above: Looking north along Water Street in the 1800s. At one time there were more than 40 of the three story warehouses lining the waterfront. Photos courtesy Florida State Archives.