4. Calvin Carver Damon's Mill, 1834-1854

This certificate of sale (from the papers given by the Damon family to the Concord Free Public Library) documents Calvin Carver Damon’s purchase of the mill on the Assabet River in Concord from James Derby in November 1834 for the sum of $18,000. Damon brought with him years of experience in the textile industry, as well as the assistance of James Johnson, his wife’s uncle, who in his capacity as head of Johnson, Sewall & Company, a Boston commission house, was able to provide Damon with an outlet for his products.

The mill had not turned a profit under the ownership of James Derby, but Damon knew the mill industry and made changes that brought success. He raised the height of the mill dam sixteen inches, improved the tail race, and built a new, more efficient wheel. He employed more local people and built additional housing for workers.

In 1834 Damon first produced his original domett cloth. Domett (or domet) was an innovative fabric made with a cotton warp and wool filling. Light yet warm, it was less prone to shrinkage than linsey-woolsey. Legend has it that the fabric was christened when, upon seeing it, James Johnson exclaimed: “Damn it, that is good cloth; it will sell.”

Though his life was cut short when he died of pleurisy in 1854 at the age of fifty-one, Calvin Carver Damon proved himself to be a successful businessman who provided well for his family and whose tenure at Factory Village shaped the character of this industrial corner of Concord.