4. Calvin Carver Damon
Calvin Carver Damon, the first proprietor of Damon Mill, was born in 1803 in Amherst, New Hampshire. Captured in this undated daguerreotype, Damon was born to Deacon Benjamin and Polly Hosea Damon, who owned a farm and sawmill. While still in his teens, Calvin left the farm and began working at a store in Concord, New Hampshire. He made the acquaintance of John Marland, whose father was considered a pioneer in manufacturing. Marland offered Damon a position in the counting room of a mill in Andover, where he worked for two years before briefly leaving the textile industry. In 1831, he became a supervisor of Marland's woolden mill in Framingham. By 1833, Damon had formed a partnership with Marland and soon bought out his interest. He was sole proprietor of the woolen mill until it burned down in 1835. In 1834, Damon purchased another mill from James Derby in West Concord, then known as Factory Village. The mill initially produced satinet, but Damon soon found this unprofitable and switched over to flannel production.
