The nation’s first miniature spinning test laboratory opened at UT in April 1952 as part of the UT Fiber Research Laboratory in a new building on the agriculture campus. The laboratory was established in conjunction with the US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industries.
The mill contained a laboratory saw gin, a miniature card imported from England, as well as standard cards, drawing, roving, and spinning frames. Mill runs started with raw cotton picked from test rows and ended with finished yard. With strength and comparison tests, the finished product was graded for cotton farmers.