The Cotton Mill was built in 1845.

The building is 252 feet long and four stories high and contained over 15 thousand spindles.

Two hundred workers were required during peak production. The mill employed child labor and had to meet Hallowell School Board standards at its mill-run school.

The mill closed in 1890 and the machinery was sold.

From 1909 to 1915 the first floor was occupied by Electrophone, a company that invented one of the world's first electric automobile horns. Shoe manufacturing took place in the mill from the 1920 to 1966.

In 1979 the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation approved participation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to convert the mill into housing for the elderly. It became the Cotton Mill Apartments.