In 1847, Maryland-born brothers Christian E. and George W. Geisendorff opened a woolen mill in the abandoned building. Five years later, they left the site and built the Hoosier Woolen Factory on West Washington Street near the bridge.
The mill produced flannel, cassimeres (closely woven smooth twilled fabric), satinettes, blankets, pants, and stocking yarns. In 1861, the Geisendorrfs opened a salesroom and dry goods store at 63 West Washington Street. After the Civil War, the Geisendorffs enlarged the mill, adding the Hoosier State Flouring Mills to the family business by 1867.
In 1870, the company was incorporated, listing Jacob C. Geisendorff, Christian E. Geisendorff, Isaac Thalman, and William W. H. MacCurdy as directors and shareholders. By 1880 the Geisendorff Mill was no longer producing flour, concentrating instead on woolen goods.
During the early 1890s, it employed more than 50 workers, produced an average of 8,000 yards of fabric each week, and opened branch mills in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. In 1897, bankers S. A. Fletcher and Co. bought the company. The business does not appear in city directories after 1898.
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