Cotton Gin and Gin Office

Carl Snider's dad, George W. Snider owned the gin located seven miles South and 2 miles West of Gould, located on several lots east of Hickman�s Grocery. Snider families and Sheriff families owned most of the land in that area. Farmers rented their land. Carl Snider ran the Gin. The Gin was steam operated and required several workers. The main building contained the gin equipment. Joining the main building, attached to the south was a cotton seed house. At the entrance to the Gin Yard was the Gin Office and scales for incoming cotton. Cotton came to the gin one bale at a time in wagons pulled by mules or by trailers pulled by Model A Ford cars. Fred Keeton hauled cotton seed in his truck to the Oil Mill in Hollis. Seed was loaded on the truck by hand using pitch forks.

Wanda Rivers Taylor remembers Carl Snider taking she and several other young people on a tour through this Gin. They were very impressed.

A newspaper article reports the following in the March 26, 1908 issue "the Bethel Gin had burned and that a meeting was held to settle up affairs of lately burned Gin. Another meeting to be held on March 28, 1908 @ 2:00 p.m." The April 2, 1908 issue states, "The adjusters visited Bethel Gin and paid the full amount of insurance on the Gin destroyed by fire a few weeks ago. This insures a larger better plant by next fall."