Today started bright and early like every day in south Texas. It was already 74 degrees when we had the driver’s meeting at 8:00 AM outside the hotel. Dave once again gave us marching orders for the day’s trip. About 8:30 we pulled out of the hotel parking lot to start our day’s adventure. A few more cars had arrived overnight bringing the total number of Model T’s present to 97. There were 100 cars registered but three were no - shows.
Our first destination today was Burton, Texas. Burton was once a major hub for cotton ginning and shipping. We toured the rail station first, then the cotton gin which was amazing.
You may notice that the Model T’s are usually in the shade. This is because it was HOT today. We left the rail station museum and proceeded to the cotton gin just around the corner on the other side of Burton. The cotton gin at Burton is the oldest operating cotton gin in the world. It is currently powered by a 1925 Bessemer 125 horsepower two cylinder engine that weighs 32,000 pounds. A much more powerful replacement engine is under cover in an adjacent building. The replacement engine is 1930’s vintage and has a 30 horsepower Waukesha four cylinder pony engine used for starting! The local high school class walked over to look at the cars. The kids were very interested and also very well behaved.
On the way out of town we admired the architecture of several turn of the century mansions.
The last stop today was in Round Top, Texas. Round Top is famous as the place around which there is a massive flea market every October. Unfortunately for us, it was last weekend. Nonetheless we had some outstanding Texas Bar - B - Q and sweet tea for lunch along with all the fixings! While some walked around looking in the antique shops others of us went looking at Model T’s. A 1910 runabout grabbed the attention of many with it’s very correct looking Brewster Green paint.
