Cotton in New Orleans

I can't answer how the cotton was moved to the ships, but keep in mind that the bales of cotton you see on the steamboats were taken off at Press Street Wharf and compressed in the building there. From there they were taken to the ships, how I don't know. Press St. got its name from the business there, the cotton compresses. The coffee wharves were, and still are, nearby.

Bernd,

Check this video on youtube which Judy posted some months ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv-sX-J_2Po

It´s showing NOLA in the 1920s. There might be something in about cotton trade in NOLA.

Carmen

Judy,

thanks for the information. I just reread Captain Millers (THOMPSON DEAN) letter to his children in Way`s Packet Directory. On p.454 he mentioned docking at the foot of Canal Street. Unfortunately it is not stated what happened to the cotton next. Maybe I got this wrong, but I thought that all the cotton coming off the DEAN`s decks was already compressed at the plantations and when it arrived in New Orleans didn`t need further treatment, but was ready for the world`s markets? I checked Google Earth for Press Street and found it downriver from the French Quarter, where I suppose the seagoing ships were moored to receive the cotton and other shipments...Can you help?

Thanks again,
Bernd

Carmen,

thanks for reminding me, I watched it again. I saw cotton shipped on a seagoing vessel, but could`t figure out the exact location. It looks downriver from the French Quarter to me, but I might be wrong.

Greetings from the North,
Bernd

I don't know how compressed the bales were at the plantations, or if all shipments on steamboats needed compressing, but I do know that it was done at Press St., which is indeed downriver from the FQ. The wharves in order heading downriver from the foot of Canal St. would have been: Upper/Lower Bienville, Toulouse(NATCHEZ' dock), Dumaine(now the Moonwalk), Gov. Nicholls, Esplanade, Mandeville, Louisa, Piety, Desire, Press. That's off the top of my head, but at any rate Press St. is about a mile or more from Canal St. There are many photos of cotton packets at Canal St. My guess would be that cotton ready for overseas shipment landed at Canal St. and cotton that needed compressing went to Press St. I wouldn't think the cotton would have been transported on land from Canal to Press when there was a wharf right at Press. I'll ask Doc about it.

Judy,

thank you very much. This makes very great sense to me and yes, I almost found exclusively pictures of cotton carriers (and stacks of cotton) at the foot of Canal Street. Are there any pictures that show cotton packets at the foot of Press Street? I`m eagerly looking forward about what Doc Hawley has to say about it. Thanks again for your help!

Greetings from rainy northern Germany,
Bernd

Offhand, I can't recall any shots at Press St - but you must remember that Canal St. was 'downtown', the epicenter of the port and very accessible to photographers and others. I doubt if the other wharves were that accessible, they sure aren't now.

All the old photos show wagons at the landing, but I know that wagons could only carry a few bales at a time, so they were probably used to transport the bales to the nearby railroad and then moved by rail to the seagoing docks. Just a thought. That's a really good question. The Tulane Library might have documents on that subject.

There were wagons built for heavy hauling that could maybe carry several bales, but a big steamer could have a thousand or more bales on it. Doing the math, that could be over a hundred wagon loads, at least. I can envision convoys of wagons going back and forth for hours to get the job done, although most of the recently unloaded cotton was probably warehoused. Those lazy days on the landing just evaporated, old photos don't capture the action.

Every cotton patch had a conveniently located gin and compress. My grandfather had a machine shop here in Tyler, Texas (East Texas) and most of his work was done on compress and gin machinery. Today, one is hard pressed (no pun) to find a single cotton plant in East Texas. Not too many years ago I had the chance to visit a gin and compress at Natchitoches, Louisiana. Cotton goes in one end and bales out the other. Bales were always within a pound or two of 500 pounds.

Good thought about the railroad - the Public Belt Line runs adjacent to the wharves all through the harbor.

Thanks Lexie and Judy for the insight.

Wagons to the rail line, down to press street or beyond via rail and on board seagoing vessels looks like the fastest way to me. Could it be that the rails of the riverfront streetcar had been used for this or is the "Lady in Red" running on new established tracks?

Thanks again,
Bernd

Yes, those are the Public Belt tracks she uses...

Even into the 1970's there were many more "yard" tracks behind the wharfs down River from Canal Street. The, or one of the. "original" Railroad Passenger stations faced onto Canal Street near the riverfront. What we see today is a far, far cry from what was there (Railroad) wise in the era of the Cotton Carrying Steamboats.