Luke Chute was the site of an early mill that harnessed river power. About 1815, Luke Emerson and Samuel White built a dam part way across the river, creating a rapid between the shore and the end of the dam known as the chute. There they constructed a mill to grind grain. The system of locks and dams built on the Muskingum River from 1836 to 1841 not only made the river navigable by steamboats, but also harnessed its power. After 1841, at least one mill was located at most of the new dams, and water power encouraged industry in the Muskingum Valley.