Cannelton Cotton Mill
Encyclopedia
Cannelton Cotton Mill, also known as Indiana Cotton Mill, is a National Historic Landmark
of the United States
located in Cannelton, Indiana
, USA.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1991.
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
. During the Civil War
, it made uniform
s for the Union Army
. 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.
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.
, the mill is 280 feet (85.3 m) long and 60 feet (18.3 m) wide. Its most striking features are 100 feet (30.5 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 completely 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.
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
located in Cannelton, Indiana
Cannelton, Indiana
Cannelton is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,209 at the 2000 census. Cannelton, which is the smallest incorporated city in the state, was formerly the county seat of Perry County until the seat was relocated to Tell City...
, USA.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1991.
History
Construction of the Cannelton Cotton Mill began in 1849 and was completed in 1851. Designed by Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Thomas Alexander Tefft
Thomas Alexander Tefft
Thomas Alexander Tefft was an American architect. Born in Richmond, Rhode Island, he was a schoolteacher when he was encouraged by Henry Barnard to become an architect. While still a student at Brown University, Tefft designed the original Union Station in Providence and the Cannelton Cotton...
and built of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, the mill was once the largest industrial building in the United States west of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. It initially employed about 400 workers, mostly women and girls, and annually produced more than 200,000 pounds of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
batting and four million yards of cotton sheeting
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, it made uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. 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.
The driving force behind the mill's construction was Hamilton Smith (1804–1875), a prominent attorney from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. Smith's vision was to create a western milling center to rival Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, but using steam-powered
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
machinery fired by locally-produced coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
instead of the hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
that ran the Lowell mills. The task proved too difficult for Smith and his associates, one of whom was Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, later United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
and Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
, who became Smith's friend when both were students at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. Another was Indiana federal judge Elisha Mills Huntington
Elisha Mills Huntington
Elisha Mills Huntington was an American lawyer, politician, prosecutor, judge and federal jurist.Born in Butternuts, New York, Huntington moved to Terre Haute, Indiana to join his older brother Nathaniel Huntington. He read law and was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1827 on his 21st birthday...
. 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
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
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
Located facing the Ohio RiverOhio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, the mill is 280 feet (85.3 m) long and 60 feet (18.3 m) wide. Its most striking features are 100 feet (30.5 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
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, 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
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
windows in the roof. His plan also called for a stepped foundation. As built, the dormers were eliminated completely 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
- CottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
- Cotton millCotton millA cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
- Child laborChild laborChild labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
- United States technological and industrial historyUnited States technological and industrial historyThe technological and industrial history of the United States describes the United States' emergence as one of the largest nations in the world as well as the most technologically powerful nation in the world...