Joseph C. Sharp’s cotton gin was another important element in Swifton’s economy. This photograph from 1880 shows cotton arriving at the gin on a mule-drawn wagon, where it would be cleaned of trash, the seeds removed, and then compressed into bales. Apparently, some of the workers in the gin emerged from their labors barely distinguishable from the bales they fashioned.
From Watson, Tim, and Elizabeth Jacoway. Newport and Jackson County. Arcadia Publishing, 2016