The Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company was incorporated in 1839. Retired ship master, Nathaniel Griffin, raised a majority of the half million dollars to build the mill along the water front in Salem, Massachusetts at Stage Point, on the South River, directly opposite Derby Wharf. Griffin then served as the first clerk and treasurer of the company until 1847. David Pingree (1795-1863) was the first president of the company (Frayler 5-6). By 1845, production was in full swing. The name "Naumkeag" came from the local Naumkeag Native American tribe, while "steam" referred to the unique processing process used by the company (Jarvis 28), originally powered by a 400-horsepower steam engine.

The primary, and later the exclusive, product of the company was cotton sheeting (Frayler 4-7). The Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company operated the Pequot Mills, which manufactured high quality Pequot bed sheets (Jarvis 7). By the beginning of the twentieth century, the company continued steadily forward, with over twenty buildings. In 1909, the Danvers Bleachery became part of the company (Frayler 7). On June 25, 1914, the Great Salem Fire, which spread through the city of Salem, destroyed all but a few of the Company's buildings. It was decided to rebuild the company immediately, and by February 1916, the Company was up and running (Jarvis 29).

Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company closed its Salem location in 1953, and moved south for economic reasons. In February 1955, the company acquired Indian Head Mills, Inc., and assumed the corporate name Indian Head Mills, Inc. and began operating out of its facilities in Alabama and South Carolina (Frayler 4).