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

This certificate of sale documents Calvin Carver Damon's purchase of the mill from James Derby in November 1834 for the sum of $18,000. Damon found an outlet for his products by partnering with James Johnson, who was head of Johnson, Sewall & Company, a Boston commission house. 

Under James Derby's ownership, the mill only made a middling profit. Damon decided to implement profitable changes, including raising the height of the mill dam by sixteen inches, improving the tail race, and building a more efficient wheel. He employed more local residents 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. It was light, warm, and less prone to shrinkage than linsey-woolsey. According to legend, the fabric's name comes from James Johnson's exclamation upon seeing the fabric for the first time: "Damn it, that is good cloth; it will sell." 

Though his life was cut short when he died of pleurisy in 1854, 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.