The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange

I really enjoyed this museum. I had no idea the depth of an impact cotton had on so many aspects of life. This museum teaches you about cotton trading, slavery, minstrel shows, blues music, etc. You also learn about how cotton fabric used to be made and how it is made now. It is a small museum, but I still spent a fair amount of time there as there was a lot to read and quite a few videos I could watch. There are two sections, one that is more catered to adults, and one about cotton today that is more kid friendly.

It's really interesting museum once you understand what all you're looking at. It's a small museum. I think if someone was there to explain the process of field to market, it would be very educational! I work at a cotton gin so I already understood it. We were in Memphis for the Farm & Gin Show so I took our employees. Our guys learned a few things that they didn't even know. So it was a win for us.

The Cotton museum is a very informative and valuable museum. I especially liked how one room was geared to educating children about cotton and its impacts. But the truly stunning moment was walking into the great room with the large board of the cotton market. I am a fan of older buildings and architecture so there was a lot to take in there beyond just the wealth of information. From the birth of crop dusting and delta airlines, explaining the history from slavery to share cropping to segregation especially the video from the 1950s at one of the private monitors, attention to the role of company stores in the lives of workers, the audio playing of the telegraph messages being sent, and of course the role of cotton to Memphis and the wider area.

This was a very affordable and insightful visit to learn about the history and impact of cotton in the region. It is located at the location of the cotton exchange which is very cool. I would highly recommend a visit if you are interested in expanding your understanding of cotton.

What a little gem! Very interesting collection of items, provided us with a lot of information about the area, the industry and the impact. Great little gift shop, I purchased some teas, magnet and a couple of other small items. I would have bought more but had no more room for items in my luggage. Staff was very friendly and helpful, thank you for helping us to have a good visit!