February 22, 2011

demolition: cotton oil mill

Another Lubbock landmark disappears. George Albert Simmons arrived in Lubbock in 1923 to oversee the building Simmons Cotton Oil Mill, the first in the area. He became the manager of the mill at 19th and Avenue A and resided in Lubbock until his death in 1954. Lubbock's cotton production gave rise to related industries and the economic boom of the 1940-50s saw three cotton seed oil mills in Lubbock with a daily capacity of over 1,000 tons a day. By the 1960s 30% of the cotton seed crushed in Texas occurred in Lubbock. The Simmons mill, known as Lubbock Cotton Oil Mill, grew in capacity and built seed houses to store cotton seed.
.....to be continued