Cotton was a mainstay of the
economy of Dallas and East Texas for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries,
and the buildings of the Continental Gin Company are one of the most visible
reminders of that pivotal industry to be found in the state. Continental Gin
grew to be one of the largest and most innovative concerns of its type in
the country. This development took place under the able leadership of Robert
S. Munger and his brother Stephen I., who are also known for their philanthropic
enterprises and real estate ventures. The Continental Gin complex is also
significant as an unusual and intact survival in Texas of turn-of--the-century
heavy industrial architecture. There were relatively few such manufacturing
sites in North areas, and most of those have been abandoned, substantially
altered, or removed altogether. The old buildings of the Continental Gin Company,
however, remain substantially as completed in 1914.
Robert S. Munger was born in Rutersville, Texas, on July 24, 1854. Working with cotton as a boy in Mexia, Texas, he developed an improved type of cotton gin. After receiving patents on his innovations, Mr. Munger established at Dallas, in 1884, a small plant for the manufacture of the Munger Ginning System. Capital support to expand production was provided by the prominent Dallas banker, W. H. Gaston, and the Munger Improved Cotton Machine Manufacturing Co. was organized. Until 1899, Munger's sales were the largest of any single manufacturer in the West. With increasing demand for his products east of the Mississippi, S.I. Munger took over the plant in Dallas during his absence. According to a descendant, Robert Munger's contributions to the family enterprise were primarily as an inventor, while his brother Stephen was known for his business acumen.
The Continental Gin Company was
created in October of 1899 by a merger of the Munger companies in Dallas and
Birmingham; the Daniel Pratt Gin Co. of Prattville, Alabama; the Winship Machine
Co. of Atlanta, Georgia; and the Eagle Cotton Gin Company of Bridgewater,
Massachusetts. The Continental Gin Company soon became the largest manufacturer
of cotton gins in the United States with a large export business to South
America, South Africa, and Russia.
The various structures which comprised the Dallas part of the company are situated in the block bounded by Trunk Avenue, Elm Street, and Pacific Street. The site is just east of the central business district. Located to the north of the plant is the Munger Place residential development which at one time attracted many of Dallas' monied citizens. This development is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Dallas office of the company was responsible for accepting all the western sales orders and distributing them to the factories. The Dallas plant also housed one of the two demonstration facilities, which the company used.
Not much is known about the original foundry because of the destruction of city records dating before 1900. However, a. second foundry was completed in 1912 and is still standing. This one-story building was valued at $16,000 and took approximately six months to complete. The contractor was D. L. Stevenson with Nettleson Contractors, Inc.
While there was a good brick warehouse at the Dallas plant, the manufacturing buildings were of frame construction and badly in need of repair. In the fall of 1913 an appropriation of $250,000 was made for four new buildings. The largest of these was valued at $175,000. A building committee consisting of R. S. Munger, chairman, S. I. Munger, D. T. Smith, and Daniel Pratt was appointed to supervise the construction.
The Continental Gin Company was
a booming industry in the early 1920's and received honorable recognition
during the 1940's for its aid in the war effort. Corporate offices were located
at 3333 Elm Street. The foundry is located at 212 Trunk Avenue and was sold
in 1962 to Al-Mar Investment. The remaining portions of the gin company were
bought by Coerver Properties in 1964 and 1966. The Coerver Company later purchased
the foundry from Al-Mar Investments in 1974. The old Continental plant still
houses the offices and foundry of Coerver Industries.
R. S. Munger not only innovated the cotton gin industry but also contributed to the development of the City of Dallas. While in Birmingham, Munger observed restricted residential districts and decided in 1900 to devise such a district for Dallas. Munger Place, located north of the Continental Gin Company, was opened in 1905 as Dallas' third subdivision and first deed-restricted subdivision. R. S. Munger was also quite influential in the development of the Lakewood Country Club, an institution in Dallas since 1913. Also, because of the exclusiveness of the entire Munger Place Development (including the Swiss Avenue Historic District), R. S. Munger managed to attract many of the prominent citizens of Dallas in the political, social, and economic circles.
His brother, S. I. Munger, was also a prominent and beloved citizen of Dallas. He was a director of several banks in Dallas and served as President of the Continental Gin Company from 1903 until his death in 1921. After his brother's death, R. S. Munger served as president of the Company until his death in 1923.