Cannelton Cotton Mill in 1974Mill in 1981, before adaptive restoration
Construction of the Cannelton Cotton Mill began in 1849 and was completed in 1851. Designed by Rhode IslandarchitectThomas Alexander Tefft and built of sandstone, the mill was once the largest industrial building in the United States west of the Allegheny Mountains. It initially employed about 400 workers, mostly women and girls, and annually produced more than 200,000 pounds of cotton batting and four million yards of cotton sheeting. Of 309 workers employed there in 1890, only 78 were men. As late as 1900, the mill employed 35 girls and 19 boys under the age of 18.
Architectural drawing of the Cannelton Cotton Mill.
The driving force behind the mill's construction was Hamilton Smith (1804–1875), a prominent attorney from Louisville, Kentucky. Smith's vision was to create a western milling center to rival Lowell, Massachusetts, but using steam-powered machinery fired by locally produced coal instead of the hydropower that ran the Lowell mills. The task proved too difficult for Smith and his associates, one of whom was Salmon P. Chase, later United States Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the United States, who became Smith's friend when both were students at Dartmouth College. Another was Indiana federal judge Elisha Mills Huntington. In 1851, control of the mill passed to brothers Dwight Newcomb (1820–1892) and Horatio Dalton Newcomb (1809–1874) who operated it successfully.
The mill closed in 1954. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The adaptive restoration of the mill to a 70-unit, low-income apartment complex was completed in 2003.
Location and constructionedit
Located facing the Ohio River, the mill is 280 feet (85 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide. Its most striking features are 100-foot (30 m) twin towers, one housed a fire escape and the other was used for water storage and fire protection. The mill's style is Romanesque, but it was not built as Tefft originally designed it. Tefft's drawings called for each story to have different window heads and for dormer windows in the roof. His plan also called for a stepped foundation. As built, the dormers were eliminated and the remaining windows, except for those in the towers, were all capped with square lintels. A half-basement with square windows replaced the stepped foundation. The overall effect is much more severe than Tefft had intended.
^ ab. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^Carolyn Pitts (January 4, 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Cannelton Cotton Mill / formerly Indiana Cotton Mills". includes plans. National Park Service. and Accompanying 19 photos, from HAER in 1974 and other
Thomas Alexander Tefft: American Architecture in Transition, 1845-1860: an exhibition by the Department of Art, Brown University, Providence, RI, 1988, pp. 156–157. ISBN0-933519-12-5
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cannelton Cotton Mills.
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana: Cannelton Cotton Mill October 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
Indiana University Lilly Library: Indiana Cotton Mills mss.
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IN-1, "Cannelton Cotton Mill, Front & Fourth Streets, Cannelton, Perry County, IN", 42 photos, 4 color transparencies, 8 measured drawings, 13 data pages, 4 photo caption pages
cannelton, cotton, mill, also, known, indiana, cotton, mill, national, historic, landmark, united, states, located, cannelton, indiana, united, states, built, 1849, effort, expand, textile, milling, england, largest, industrial, building, west, allegheny, moun. Cannelton Cotton Mill also known as Indiana Cotton Mill is a National Historic Landmark of the United States located in Cannelton Indiana United States Built in 1849 as an effort to expand textile milling out of New England it was the largest industrial building west of the Allegheny Mountains designed by Thomas Alexander Tefft an early industrial architect It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991 2 3 The building now houses residences Cannelton Cotton MillsU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S National Historic LandmarkMill in 2007 after adaptive restorationLocationCannelton IN United StatesCoordinates37 54 40 72 N 86 44 44 29 W 37 9113111 N 86 7456361 W 37 9113111 86 7456361Arealess than one acreBuilt1849 1849 ArchitectThomas A Tefft Alexander McGregorArchitectural styleRomanesqueNRHP reference No 75000011Significant datesAdded to NRHPAugust 22 1975 1 Designated NHLJuly 17 1991 2 Contents 1 History 2 Location and construction 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Cannelton Cotton Mill in 1974 nbsp Mill in 1981 before adaptive restorationConstruction of the Cannelton Cotton Mill began in 1849 and was completed in 1851 Designed by Rhode Island architect Thomas Alexander Tefft and built of sandstone the mill was once the largest industrial building in the United States west of the Allegheny Mountains It initially employed about 400 workers mostly women and girls and annually produced more than 200 000 pounds of cotton batting and four million yards of cotton sheeting Of 309 workers employed there in 1890 only 78 were men As late as 1900 the mill employed 35 girls and 19 boys under the age of 18 nbsp Architectural drawing of the Cannelton Cotton Mill The driving force behind the mill s construction was Hamilton Smith 1804 1875 a prominent attorney from Louisville Kentucky Smith s vision was to create a western milling center to rival Lowell Massachusetts but using steam powered machinery fired by locally produced coal instead of the hydropower that ran the Lowell mills The task proved too difficult for Smith and his associates one of whom was Salmon P Chase later United States Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the United States who became Smith s friend when both were students at Dartmouth College Another was Indiana federal judge Elisha Mills Huntington In 1851 control of the mill passed to brothers Dwight Newcomb 1820 1892 and Horatio Dalton Newcomb 1809 1874 who operated it successfully The mill closed in 1954 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1991 The adaptive restoration of the mill to a 70 unit low income apartment complex was completed in 2003 Location and construction editLocated facing the Ohio River the mill is 280 feet 85 m long and 60 feet 18 m wide Its most striking features are 100 foot 30 m twin towers one housed a fire escape and the other was used for water storage and fire protection The mill s style is Romanesque but it was not built as Tefft originally designed it Tefft s drawings called for each story to have different window heads and for dormer windows in the roof His plan also called for a stepped foundation As built the dormers were eliminated and the remaining windows except for those in the towers were all capped with square lintels A half basement with square windows replaced the stepped foundation The overall effect is much more severe than Tefft had intended See also edit nbsp Indiana portalCotton Cotton mill Child labor United States technological and industrial historyReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service January 23 2007 a b Cannelton Cotton Mills National Historic Landmark summary listing National Park Service Archived from the original on June 5 2011 Retrieved July 23 2008 Carolyn Pitts January 4 1991 National Register of Historic Places Registration Cannelton Cotton Mill formerly Indiana Cotton Mills includes plans National Park Service and Accompanying 19 photos from HAER in 1974 and other Thomas Alexander Tefft American Architecture in Transition 1845 1860 an exhibition by the Department of Art Brown University Providence RI 1988 pp 156 157 ISBN 0 933519 12 5External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cannelton Cotton Mills Cannelton Cotton Mill Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Cannelton Cotton Mill Archived October 2 2006 at the Wayback Machine Indiana University Lilly Library Indiana Cotton Mills mss Perry County Indiana The Cannelton Cotton Mill Historic American Engineering Record HAER No IN 1 Cannelton Cotton Mill Front amp Fourth Streets Cannelton Perry County IN 42 photos 4 color transparencies 8 measured drawings 13 data pages 4 photo caption pages HAER No IN 1 A Cannelton Cotton Mill Superintendent s House 3 photos 1 photo caption page HAER No IN 1 B Cannelton Cotton Mill Worker s Housing Type A 2 photos 1 photo caption page HAER No IN 1 C Cannelton Cotton Mill Worker s Housing Type B 4 photos 1 photo caption page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cannelton Cotton Mill amp oldid 1172966993, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
