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Image by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent)
The Memphis Cotton Exchange was established in 1874. Cotton merchants of the time became aware of the need for a trade organization to regulate cotton marketing in the city. They were also aware of the many benefits reaped by the New York Cotton Exchange and the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. Once established, the exchange produced rules and regulations on cotton trading and set standards for buying and pricing cotton in Memphis and the mid-South. The exchanged developed a method for grading cotton to which members agreed. It operated as a "spot market" and never developed futures trading except for two short-lived experiments. The exchange developed as a source of information about world markets, and cotton merchants found they had to join as members in order to compete. The exchange also promoted "Memphis cotton" in major markets such as New York and London.
the Memphis Cotton Exchange had a multi-story building constructed on Union Avenue; the Cotton Exchange Building opened in 1922. The Exchange moved here from its prior location at the 1910 Exchange Building which also doubled as a Merchant Exchange. Cotton trading was done on the first floor, and only members of the exchange were allowed to trade there. In 1978, the trading floor was closed in favor of computer trading. The historic floor has since been remodeled and is now home to The Cotton Museum; it is used to educate the public about the industry and agriculture of cotton, the commodity crop that built the wealth of the city of Memphis for decades.
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