CROWDS VISIT BURTON FOR COTTON GIN FESTIVAL

  

Crowds of people gathered this weekend in Burton to celebrate the oldest operating cotton gin in America.

The 28th annual Burton Cotton Gin Festival took place this Friday and Saturday.

The festival featured gin tours, a parade, auctions, live music, folk-life demonstrations, arts and crafts, tractor pull, and contests.

Stephanie Jarvis, Director of the Texas Cotton Gin Museum, says the festival helps raise money for the museum and gin.

Designated on June 19, 2009 as the Official Cotton Gin Museum of Texas, this historic cotton gin has been visited annually by thousands of visitors.

The cotton gin has been named a National Historic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.

While the festival brings out thousands to the area, Jarvis says visitors are welcome to the cotton gin and museum year-round.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit cottonginmuseum.org.