Mebane Triumph, Posted on February 4, 2026

Photo credit: Cotton flower, Mississippi State University, University Extension

What in the world is Mebane Triumph?

The Mebane family has accomplished so much over the last several hundred years, it would be hard to guess which of their triumphs I am referring to.

So, you might be surprised to find out that Mebane Triumph is a variety of cotton!

It was developed by Alexander Duff Mebane (1855-1923), a descendant of a brother of General Alexander Mebane, Jr. who served in the Revolutionary War.

Alec as he was called, was born in 1855 in what would become Mebane, North Carolina, a small city that straddles Alamance and Orange Counties.

His parents, David Mitchell Mebane and Elizabeth Kerr Mebane moved the family to Dancyville, Tennessee, where they lived through the Civil War.

Around 1870, the Mebanes moved again, this time to Texas. They built a two-room cabin and resumed farming.

Alec was a farmer, but he also bred horses, a venture that ended in a disastrous fire. He returned to farming and by luck, observation and skillful plant breeding developed a variety of cotton that was sold all over the world. He marketed his new variety as Mebane Triumph Cotton.