Museum and Visitor Center
of the Bastrop County Historical Society

New Exhibits

"When Cotton was King - History of Cotton Farming in Bastrop County."

Cotton Press made before 1890, on loan from John Adams

Cotton bolls

Visit the museum and enjoy our newest exhibit which will continue throughout the fall and features a vintage cotton press and a "hands on" display allowing visitors to try their hand at picking cotton fiber from the prickly boll.   

This educational exhibit traces cotton farming from the 1840s to the present.  In 1850, Bastrop had a population of 3,099 people and produced 1,478 cotton bales; by 1890, that figure had jumped to 20,736 bales and was the "cash crop" of the day.

Very little cotton is grown in Bastrop County today, but this exhibit will put you in touch with the era of "King Cotton" which provided economic prosperity to our County for 100 years.  From small farms and plantations manned by slaves, to sharecroppers and tenant farmers, and later, to farms crewed by Mexican immigrants, the story of cotton is important to Bastrop County's history.