Mobile Cotton Exchange
Encyclopedia
The Mobile Cotton Exchange was a commodities exchange that operated from 1871 until 1942 in the Alabama
port
city of Mobile
to enable key local cotton factor
s and merchants to maintain control over cotton sales, warehousing, and shipping from Mobile Bay. It was the third cotton exchange founded in the United States, following those in New York
and New Orleans
. The exchange in Mobile was followed by exchanges in Savannah and Memphis
.
. The exchange moved from St. Michael Street in 1886, into a new Rudolph Benz-designed building at the corner of St. Francis and North Commerce streets. That building burned in 1917, with the firm relocating to another St. Francis Street address facing Bienville Square
. The Mobile Cotton Exchange closed in 1942 with an August newspaper announcement that it was closing until the war's end. It never reopened, however.
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
city of Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
to enable key local cotton factor
Cotton factor
In the antebellum South, most cotton planters relied on cotton factors to sell their crops for them....
s and merchants to maintain control over cotton sales, warehousing, and shipping from Mobile Bay. It was the third cotton exchange founded in the United States, following those in New York
New York Cotton Exchange
The New York Cotton Exchange was a commodities exchange founded in 1870 by a group of one hundred cotton brokers and merchants at 1 Hanover Square in New York City.- History :...
and New Orleans
New Orleans Cotton Exchange
The New Orleans Cotton Exchange was established in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1871 as a centralized forum for the trade of cotton. It operated in New Orleans until closing in 1964...
. The exchange in Mobile was followed by exchanges in Savannah and Memphis
Memphis Cotton Exchange
The Memphis Cotton Exchange is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on the corner of Front Street and Union Avenue. It was founded in 1874 as a result of the growing cotton market in Memphis. Cotton merchants of the time became aware of the need for a trade organization to regulate cotton...
.
History
Following the initial success of the exchanges seen in New York and New Orleans, the cotton brokers in Mobile saw the need to protect their local market and to coordinate the rules and regulations for the sale, purchase and handling of cotton. With Thomas K. Irwin as chairman, they founded their exchange on St. Michael Street in December 1871. During the first half of the 1870s the exchange covered fifty-one counties in Alabama and twenty in MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The exchange moved from St. Michael Street in 1886, into a new Rudolph Benz-designed building at the corner of St. Francis and North Commerce streets. That building burned in 1917, with the firm relocating to another St. Francis Street address facing Bienville Square
Bienville Square
Bienville Square is a historic city park in the center of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Bienville Square was named for Mobile’s founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville...
. The Mobile Cotton Exchange closed in 1942 with an August newspaper announcement that it was closing until the war's end. It never reopened, however.