22. Damon Mill Today, 1922-Present

After the equipment was removed in the early 1920s, the mill was used by the A&P as a warehouse until the early 1930s, when it was bought by Jack Lord of Stow. Lord used it as an apple storage facility, and it remained cold storage for apples for fifty years.

In a 1990 oral history interview, Richard Damon, Calvin Carver Damon’s great-great-grandson, remembered the mill as “a busy place, there were lots of trucks full of apples pulling in all the time . . .” It also provided employment for many local residents. Lord sold the building in 1970 and it changed hands three times before being auctioned to Bill Sullivan, who brought on Richard Damon as a limited partner. The building was in complete disrepair, with its north walls collapsing, windows broken, and roof caving in. Through the efforts of Sullivan, Damon, and others, the mill was renovated. It took seven years, but the final result was an inspired, thoughtful restoration of the building that Edward Carver Damon had had the foresight to make graceful as well as utilitarian, a building that was almost assured of finding a place in Concord’s history.

Now an assemblage of offices and workspaces, Damonmill Square has transformed from a textile mill to office space through a sensitive restoration that preserved the structure and retained the architectural details. It is an excellent example of adapting an older building for contemporary use without compromising its historical authenticity.