Early surveying parties on the Washtenaw Trail, which became M-60, reported strong water-power potential at the junction of the two rivers and the nearby stretch called the Coldwater Rapids. In 1834, Justice Goodwin, the first permanent settler, built the first race to power a sawmill. A larger raceway was later dredged diagonally west from here to the St. Joe, supplying water power to several saw and grist mills. The first local drowning occurred in the mill race and involved a pioneer child of the Olmsted family. In 1840, many residents suffered a "sickness" blamed on too many logs floating in the raceway, leading the Township Board to order that no logs be allowed to lie in the pond more than 3 days between May and November. The dam was removed in 2002 and the raceway was filled in.