In High Cotton In Madison Ga.

I don't think this was ever a cotton warehouse. The earliest map showing it is 1885 and it is shown as two stores, one selling stoves and one selling groceries and tinware. It changed uses over time but I've never seen reference to a cotton warehouse.

lula adams wrote:

I don't think this was ever a cotton warehouse. The earliest map showing it is 1885 and it is shown as two stores, one selling stoves and one selling groceries and tinware. It changed uses over time but I've never seen reference to a cotton warehouse.

Building was erected in the late 1880's however, for many years...1920's forward....cotton farmer's brought cotton there to trade for product in that store such as stoves, housewares, etc. The parking lot to the right and to the rear of the building(not paved then,of course) was used to park the mule and horse drawn wagons carrying the cotton. Madison has many historic buildings that have housed many different businesses over the decades. This is just another example. In fact, the other photo of a business,now Laughing Moon, was once the Belmont Hotel....rooms upstairs, diner, office and dancing downstairs. Oliver Hardy's mother worked in several of the hotels in Madison, including this one. The original "lighted" Belmont Hotel sign can be seen on display upstairs in one of the rooms open for retail.

Sounds plausible that farmers would trade for product though not that they would have warehoused cotton here. Uses for the building noted on fire insurance maps from the 1920s on: 1921 - grocer & cobbler in half, furniture warehouse in half; 1941 & 1951 - furniture store. The parking lot next door used to have a metal clad building constructed between 1909-1921. Uses listed: 1921 - Farmers Hardware Co. warehouse; 1941 & 1951 - Lumber & Implement Storage. It was still there in 1964, still used for lumber.

Lula Come on down to Madison and pay a visit to our local archivist located in the old jail. You might enjoy comparing Madison archival records on our historic structures to your "fire insurance" maps. Madison has much documentation on many of its historic structures as well as photos. I know people that worked for the Farmers Hardware. It's actually still in business on the south end of hwy 278 just past the "split". It was located next door to the In High Cotton bldg. Harris Furniture store, owned by the late JD Harris was in the In High Cotton bldg. for many years until the current owners purchased it around 2002. I'm sure the mules and horse drawn wagons would have "parked" under the metal roof building on what is now the parking lot.

So, I took your advice and met with Mr. Williams. Nice man. He said that the building was not a cotton warehouse. As for trading cotton for housewares, etc. he said that is not the way cotton was traded. Farmers sold their cotton to cotton brokers (like Godfreys) and did not use it as barter. He did say it was possible that mules and wagons parked in the shed because it was open. He remembers buying lumber there. I still doubt it. Why would Farmers build a warehouse and then waste the space for people to park mules and wagons in? Makes no sense. By the way, did you know that the archives has copies of the "fire insurance" maps? They are considered excellent research documents. Already knew about Farmers Hardware and Harris Furniture. Did you know that W.H. Adams started that furniture business eventually selling to the Harris'? Mr. Adams then went into the car business. Do you know where his business was located?