"Francis Faulkner came to North Billerica in 1811. He leased a failing mill on the east bank of the Concord River at the dam and secured waterpower by agreement with the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal. An iron rod was set in a stone above the dam on the east bank of the river. Faulkner was required to stop drawing water when the millpond level fell three quarters of an inch below a grove cut in the rod. It is said that Faulkner first devoted some time to making chocolate. He soon devoted all his efforts to textiles.
At this time the farmers would bring their wool to the mill to have it carded (carding is the process in which wool is manipulated into sliver form before spinning). They would then return home to have it spun and woven, after which it was returned to the mill for finishing. Concerning the strength of the finished product, it was said that a powerful team of oxen was stopped in its tracks when a farmer plowing his field caught his pants on a stump.
Within four years Faulkner had erected additional buildings to house machinery for carding, napping, shearing and pressing wool. In 1818, as a result of a fire, a new mill was constructed from bricks supplied by a nearby farm.
By 1836 much of the 1818 structure had been consumed by another fire. Subsequently a three story brick building was erected. This third factory had a steep pitched roof, a wooden stair tower and a Georgian-style cupola. During the Civil War the main building, a four story (including basement) brick edifice was added. In 1886 a water cistern tower was added to the northeast corner of the main building.
Despite additions to the factory in the 1940's and again in the early 1960's, foreign competition forced the mill to close. The company, which Faulkner founded, continued as a textile manufactory at the site until 1987.
At the present time the surviving mill buildings (owned by Ron Pare) have been subdivided for light manufacturing, museum activity and office space.

(As it appeared in Canal Routes, A Quarterly Newsletter Published by the Middlesex Canal Commission - Billerica Section, dated Fall, 2000)