Thank you for your interest in preserving and protecting Arizona's historic, architectural, and cultural resources. There are two significant issues of concern that we wish to bring to your attention. First,
Town of Buckeye officials have voted to raze the 1928 Eastman Cotton Gin. Demolition is scheduled for early September. As reported in the August 27, 2012 Arizona Republic, "For years, informal town plans called for turning the gin, once used to separate cotton from its seeds, into a museum and downtown gateway to showcase the areas agricultural heritage. Town officials spent more than $2 million to purchase the gin and surrounding property. But in the end, renovating the landmark was deemed too costly."
After the vote, Councilman Robert Garza, a fifth-generation native of Buckeye, lamented, "The gin is just a rusty building, but it is part of our heritage... It's hard because Buckeye went through a giant boom, and we had a big influx of people from the outside. They didn't necessarily see what we saw in our community, in our history, in our culture."
If you wish to express your opinion on this matter, please contact the Town Mayor and Council at 623-349-6949 or via email:
History
A cotton gin is where the seeds and stalks are removed from the cotton boll that is picked off the plant, originally by the hand and later machine. The Buckeye Valley was a top producer of cotton for the state with numerous cotton gins around the area. As new techniques on picking cotton and transporting longer distances evolved, the need for a cotton gin every few miles found the 1928 Eastman Cotton Gin obsolete. Over the years, other gin sites were demolished to make way for new housing developments and the Eastman Cotton Gin found itself one of the last original gins in the Buckeye Valley.