Where was the Lane Cottonmill?
Blake Pontchartrain
Hey Blake,
My Aunt used to tell me about the Lane Cotton Mill somewhere around Tchoupitoulas Street on the Mississippi River. She said she was a nurse there for many years until it closed. Years later, my father-in-law said he used to fill the vending machines there when he was young. Both are gone now, but I never was told why the mill closed. Any info on who owned the mill and why it closed?
W. J. McDonald
Dear W.J.,
The cotton mill, located at 434 Cadiz St., opened in 1864 and was the first successful venture in manufacturing cotton cloth. The founder was N.L. Lane.
Over the years the mill grew and prospered. It changed owners several times, but always kept the name of its founder. By the time it closed, about 1,400 workers took raw cotton and spun, dyed, wove and finished it.
When the mill closed in 1957, it was owned by M. Lowenstein & Sons Inc. of New York. Competition came in the form of plastics and synthetic materials.
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