The Town also offered an incentive of 60 acres of land to whoever would construct and maintain a corn mill, as long as the mill was ready to grind corn by "the first of the 10th month"[i.e. December]. The first corn mill was erected in 1641 by
John Elderkin, a recent arrival from
Lynn, at a dam on East Brook next to the present day Condon Park and near the intersection of Bussey St and Colburn St. This was the first
public utility in the nation. Early settlers could grind their corn at the mill, and in return paid a tithe to help maintain the mill. In 1642, Elderkin sold half of his rights to Whiting and the other half to
John Allin,
Nathan Aldis, and
John Dwight. They operated the mill "in a rather stormy partnership" until 1649 when Whiting became the sole owner. The Town was displeased with the "insufficient performance" of the mill under Whiting's management. As the only miller in town, residents were dependent upon him. In 1652, Whiting sold his mill and all his town rights to John Dwight,
Francis Chickering, Joshua Fisher, and John Morse for 250 pounds, but purchased it back the following year. Whiting and five generations of his descendants ran their mill from 1641 until 1823, when it was sold. The family controlled land on Mother Brook until the 1830s. In January 1653 the Town offered land to Robert Crossman if he would build a mill on the Charles where
Abraham Shaw had originally intended, before the construction of Mother Brook. Crossman refused, but Whiting was so displeased by the prospect of a second mill that he offered to sell his mill back to the Town for 250 pounds. Whiting's performance did not improve, however, and the town wanted an alternative.
Daniel Pond and
Ezra Morse were then given permission by the Town to erect a new corn mill on the brook above Whiting's, so long as it was completed by June 24, 1665. Whiting was upset by the competition for both water and customers and, "never one to forgive and forget, Whiting made something of a crusade of opposition" to the new mill. Records show that the Town spent "considerable time" trying to resolve the issue. After meeting with the Selectmen, both agreed to live in peace and not interfere with the business of the other. Two years later Morse was instructed to not hinder the water flow to such an extent that it would make milling difficult for Whiting. The Town resolved that "in time of drought or want of water, the water shall in no such time be raised so high by the occasion of the new mill, that the water be thereby hindered of its free course or passage out of the Charles River to the mill. The proprietors of the old mill are at the same time restricted from raising the water in their pond so high as to prejudice the new mill by flowage of backwater." At the same time, Whiting was also told to repair leaks in his own dam before complaining about a lack of water. Trouble and disputes, including a lawsuit, continued between the two until 1678 when Town Meeting voted not to hear any more complaints from Whiting. In 1699, the Morse dam at present day Maverick Street was removed, and Morse was given 40 acres of land near the Neponset River at
Tiot in compensation. This seems to have been Morse's idea. The next mill was constructed in 1682 at Mill Lane. Originally requested by
Jonathan Fairbanks and James Draper, the privilege was granted to Whiting and Draper instead, likely to avoid any more problems with Whiting. Whiting died on the day the rights were granted to him, however. This mill was for
fulling wool, and was the first
textile mill in Dedham. A condition was attached to this permission, however, that if the Town wanted to erect a corn mill on the brook that they may do so, unless Draper and Whiting did so at their own expense. This mill, like the one above it, was held by Whiting's descendants for 180 years. One of Whiting's mills burned in 1700, and so the Town loaned him 20 pounds to rebuild. At some point in the early 1700s a new leather mill was constructed by Joseph Lewis, Whiting's son-in-law, at the site of the old Morse dam. A fourth mill was established, at present day Stone Mill Drive, just down stream from the third in 1787 by two of Whiting's descendants. For a short period of time it produced copper cents, and then was used to manufacture paper. A third of Whiting's descendants opened a wire factory on the same site. ==Notes==