The Eagle Cotton Mill went up along the Ohio River in 1884, part of Madison, Indiana’s identity as a working river town that shipped goods downstream long before its 19th-century architecture drew any tourist attention. The mill spun raw cotton into twine and fabric for decades before Meese Inc. bought the factory in 1940 and shifted production toward canvas goods and combat gear for the Second World War effort.
The mill closed for good in 1980 and sat empty for the next four decades, landing on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered list in 2013 as its condition worsened. Architect and developer Ron Bateman took on the restoration after retiring to southern Indiana, and a consortium of partners converted the building into an 85-room Fairfield Inn & Suites, the brand’s first hotel in a historic structure. Original timber beams, some still carved with the marks of the largely female workforce that once ran the looms, support the lobby’s soaring ceilings.