Fabric of Cannelton

Fabric of Cannelton. Ohio River Scenic Byway. , The Indiana Cotton Mill is remarkable in many ways. Its presence in the town might be compared to a medieval Gothic cathedral towering over a European village. It was built between 1849-1851 under the direction of Charles T. James with land donated by the American Cannel Coal Company. Architect Thomas Tefft of New England designed the building, which was constructed with variegated, locally quarried sandstone., The 70,000 square-foot building was once the largest industrial building in Indiana and the largest mill west of the Appalachians. It faces the Ohio River with a 280 foot frontage, and is five stories high. The river was a source for transported raw materials as well as an avenue to market the finished product. Construction cost of this building was $80,000, and $175,000 worth of machinery was shipped from England. Local coal was used to fuel the steam boilers that powered it., Many young women, experienced in mill work, were brought from England, and modest housing was built to accommodate the workers. Several hundred workers were needed to operate the 11,000 spindles whirling out 40,000 yards of sheeting per week. The mill manufactured Union Army uniforms during the Civil War and materials for both world wars. It operated continuously from 1841 to 1954, and twice changed ownership. Today the Cotton Mill has been transformed from an endangered, vacant eyesore to a community asset, adaptively reused for public housing. It is included in the registry of Historic American Engineering Records and is a National Historic Landmark., By the Way: , Twin 100 foot towers flank the entrance to the Indiana Cotton Mill; one contained a bell for calling employees back to work.