Cotton through the years has played a dominant role in the life of Memphis and the entire South influencing greatly the economic, political and social life of the city and its environs. It has been said that cotton made Memphis, made its richest men and built their mansions. The institution or organization that controlled an industry of such widespread importance would of course be a powerful influence on all facets of life in the city and the surrounding territory. The organization was the Memphis Cotton Exchange whose founding [134 years ago we celebrate.] In 1873 Memphis covered 4.64 square miles and the census of 1870 had counted 40,221 souls within those boundaries and 76,377 in all of Shelby County. The city was struggling to overcome the devastating effects of the Civil War, was in throes of a yellow fever epidemic, and cholera was prevalent. The succeeding years saw even greater epidemics with almost the entire population fleeing the city; some never to return. As a result Memphis lost its chapter and became a taxing district. Not only has Memphis and cotton overcome those difficulties, but the cotton industry, led by the Memphis Cotton Exchange, has survived recessions, depressions, floods and droughts, riots, tremendous price fluctuations, serve government restrictions and many other adversities.
   
 As a result of its location high on the Forth Chickasaw Bluff, Memphis was natural site for the cotton trade to grow and prosper. Cotton came to market by flatboats and steamboats using the Wolf, Mississippi and even Tennessee Rivers. The latter brought the staple from as faraway as Alabama. Arkansas cotton grown in the St. Francis, White and lower Arkansas river valleys was sent to Memphis for sale. Cotton that moved to Memphis by riverboat was unloaded on the levee and ox carts were used to haul it up the steep incline. Before moving to factors’ warehouses, the cotton was often piled up on the sidewalks in front of the cotton offices on Front Street making almost a tunnel of the walkways. In the early 1850’s the building of planked roads facilitated the movement to Memphis of cotton grown in northern Mississippi counties and neighboring Tennessee counties. Not all roads were planked and wagons made slow and tedious progress on muddy, dirt wagonways. Railroads became vital to the industry, to be replaced to a great extent by trucks and today we are utilizing the airlines to hasten delivery of samples. To date cotton has not used rockets and spaceships, but it is to be anticipated that before the bicentennial is celebrated the ingenuity of the cotton man will have placed cotton on the moon or possibly another planet and the Memphis Cotton Exchange will be guiding business on the local, national, international, and interplanetary levels.

_{Paine, Janie V. "Memphis Cotton Exchange….one hundred years." Memphis Cotton Exchange Centennial Program. c.1973}

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