10. Fire at the Damon Mill, June 19, 1862

Business was booming at the Damon Mill in 1862. The mill had a contract with the United States Army to produce fifty thousand yards of white cotton and wool flannel. But on June 19, 1862, while Edward Damon was away on business in Lawrence, the mill burned down. It was a total loss. Henry F. Smith wrote that just prior to the fire, the mill had been “. . . put in complete order, turning out an increased production at a very satisfactory profit.”

The annual report of the Concord Fire Department in the 1862 town report (shown here) stated: “The Department has been called out four times, viz.: — at E.C. Damon’s Factory, which was entirely consumed; at Acton Centre, where were consumed a stable, dry goods store, shoe store, town house, and tavern; at the house of Mrs. Gorman, where the damage was trifling; and at the cottage, formerly owned by S.G. Wheeler, which was damaged slightly.” Edward Damon was serving as 3d Assistant Engineer of the Fire Department at the time his mill burned.

Damon was momentarily devastated by the loss of the mill, but not discouraged. He responded with characteristic energy and immediately began the process of rebuilding his business. He hired respected Worcester architect Elbridge Boyden to design it, and used local materials in the construction, including lumber from Lowell and bricks from Shirley. Damon’s energy and optimism in rebuilding the mill are reflected in the words carved on a stone tablet and set on the wall:

BUILT 1808.

BURNT JUNE 19, 1862.

REBUILT 1862.