Vicksburg Prepares for the Visit of President McKinley
by Maria Coulson
Title
Vicksburg Prepares for the Visit of President McKinley
Artist
Maria Coulson
Medium
Photograph - Digital Art, Fine Art Phototgraphy
Description
Riverfront mural by renowned artist Robert Dafford in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
When William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States (1897-1901), visited Vicksburg on May 1, 19 01, cotton was “king” in Vicksburg and Warren County, as is evidenced by this arch of cotton bales (each weighing about 450 pounds) that greeted him and his wife.
Vicksburg had at the time a world-wide reputation for the quality of her cotton, being located in the center of the long-stapled cotton district, whose product, technically known as Bender’s cotton, commanded the highest market price.
Not only were Vicksburg ’s fields fertile, but her development as a transportation hub, on the Mississippi River with easy access to the railroad, made the city a “cotton center.” The cotton trade was divided into two sharply defined branches who represented the producer and cotton brokers who represented the manufacturer.
In 1888, Vicksburg ’s cotton receipts were 60,000 bales valued at $3,000,000. The Vicksburg Cotton Exchange, an organization founded in 1874, received all cotton market reports during the regular season and performed the functions of the city’s board of trade.
Other businesses associated with the cotton trade were cotton compresses and three cottonseed oil mills; the Refuge, the Vicksburg , and the Hill City Cottonseed Oil Company.
Proceeds from the sale of this photograph goes to help orphaned and abandoned children in Colombia South America.
Uploaded
March 16th, 2021
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