Kingsville Cotton Mill

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, this story starts the way a lot of good Texas stories start: with somebody from somewhere else who had a big idea. William D.

McNeill, out of North Carolina, put his promotional efforts to work and convinced enough people that Kingsville, Texas needed a cotton mill. And not just talk, either. Interested citizens backed the project with a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and on this very site, construction of the Kingsville Cotton Mill went up in 1921.

Come February 22, 1922, the machinery started turning. Running the whole operation as superintendent was McNeill's son-in-law, David H. Jones.

They were taking locally grown cotton, spinning it into yarn, and shipping that yarn north and east to be made into carpets. A South Texas field to a northern floor. That's a full trip.

Now, here's where the story takes its first turn. By 1924, low profits closed the factory down. You might think that's the end of it.

But the same year it closed, the San Antonio Cotton Mill leased the place and reopened it. New management, new mission. They weren't making carpet yarn anymore.

They were turning out Ford Model-T transmission and brake band linings, and later, packaging twine. During peak production, this mill was chewing through two hundred and sixty-four pounds of cotton every single hour, and it employed two hundred and fifty workers. That is not a small thing for a town's economy.

The San Antonio Cotton Mill kept at it until 1935, then ended its operation. The building sat quiet for a while, but quiet never lasts long in a story like this. World War II came along, 1941 to 1945, and Paul Danforth leased the building to produce cotton twine and khaki belts for military uniforms.

That old mill, which started life making carpet yarn, was now outfitting soldiers. At the end of the war, the factory closed again, and this time the machinery was sold off. Gone.

But here's the part that lands differently than you might expect. The King Ranch acquired the property. They converted it into what is now the Alice G.

K. Kleberg Elementary School, and in 1947, they presented it to the community as a gift. A cotton mill that fed the economy, clothed soldiers, and then became a place where children learn.

That's not just a building. That's a whole chapter of Kingsville right there on one site.

What the marker says

Promotional efforts by William D. McNeill (1860-1925) of North Carolina resulted in construction of the Kingsville Cotton Mill on this site in 1921. Interested citizens supported the project with an investment of $150,000. Production began on Feb. 22, 1922, with McNeill's son-in-law, David H. Jones (1876-1964), as superintendent of the mill. Using locally grown cotton, the plant produced yarn which was shipped to the north and east for manufacturing carpets. Closed in 1924 because of low profits, the factory was leased and reopened the same year by San Antonio Cotton Mill. The new management made Ford Model-T transmission and brake band linings and later packaging twine. During peak production, the mill processed 264 pounds of cotton an hour and employed 250 workers, greatly contributing to the economy of the town. The San Antonio Cotton Mill ended its operation in 1935. Paul Danforth (1886-1949) leased the building during World War II (1941-45) to make cotton twine and khaki belts for military uniforms. At the end of the war, the factory was closed and the machinery sold. The King Ranch acquired the property, converted it into what is now the Alice G. K. Kleberg Elementary School in 1947, and presented it to the community as a gift.