In 1882, the Madison Cotton Gin Company, which owns the Phoenix Mills at Madison, Florida offered Ralph Barker the position of secretary and treasure.
Madison, Florida
Cotton planters settled the town of Madison, Florida in 1838, though there were residents there before that. The county was established in 1827 and by 1850 the county population had grown to more than 5,000 people.
The world’s largest longstaple cotton gin was located in Madison before the boll weevil arrived in 1916, and wiped out the cotton industry. The “cotton years” memories are preserved in a small park near the Amtrak railroad station in the south side of town. In the park is a 16 foot drive wheel for a 500 horse power engine that once pulled 65 gins in what was said to be be the worlds largest cotton processing plant.
