The improvements that have been made in cotton varieties grown in the US stripper-harvested areas over the past fifty years are documented. The improvements have been a result of public and private research resulting in the development of improved varieties supplemented by improved agronomic practices. Yields in Texas, the primary state producing stripper-harvested cotton, have increased from approximately 200 lbs/acre to almost 500 lbs/acre during the last fifty years. Fiber length and strength have increased dramatically since 1980, the time that USDA introduced HVI instrumentation. Varieties that have occupied at least ten percent of the stripper-harvested area at some time during the last fifty years include: Macha, Gregg, Northern Star, Stripper 31, Von Roeder, Lockett, Growers Seed Association (GSA), Lankart, Tamcot, and Paymaster.