Canal Corporation in 1851, and in 1857 they established Talbot Mills in North Billerica, Massachusetts, in partnership with the Belvidere Mill Company. The business was successful, and the brothers acquired full control of that business in 1862. Thomas focused on the textile business while Charles continued to manage the dye and chemical interests, expanding the facilities in 1870 and again in 1880. The mill site in Billerica was not without some controversy. The dam, which had been constructed in the 1790s to provide water for the Middlesex Canal, was believed by some to be responsible for the flooding of fields upstream as far as Sudbury. There were calls to remove the dam, as well as legal action, which Talbot vigorously resisted. The dispute was partly played out in the state legislature, and brought Talbot to the attention of political leaders as a potential candidate for office. Talbot also opposed plans developed by the city of Boston to divert waters of the Sudbury River (a major tributary of the Concord River) for its water supply. Political career Talbot, a Republican, served in the Massachusetts legislature beginning in 1851, and sat in the governor's council from 1864 to 1869. In 1872, he was elected lieutenant governor, serving two terms under William B. Washburn. On the selection of Washburn to the United States Senate by the state legislature in early 1874, he became acting governor. One item of unfinished business Washburn left to Talbot was a bill mandating a ten-hour workday. This matter had been the subject of labor agitation in the state, and Washburn had been opposed to the bill. Talbot, despite his mill ownership, was an advocate, and signed the bill into law. He also refused to authorize construction of a prison in Concord, and signed legislation allowing women to vote for members of local school committees. The state's liquor prohibition law was a major political issues at the time, and Talbot was a strict prohibitionist. During this term he vetoed a bill that would have disbanded the state police, which were charged with the law's enforcement, and also vetoed a bill replacing prohibition with a licensing scheme. In the 1874 election, anti-prohibition Republicans joined with Democrats to elect William Gaston over Talbot by a narrow margin. The election marked a watershed in post-Civil War Massachusetts, since it was the first victory for a Democrat in that period, and exposed the