Between 1886 and 1918, the Ringling Bros. Circus occupied at least 22 winter quarters buildings in the Ringlingville area along the north side of the Baraboo River, as well as a railroad car shop on the south side of the river six blocks to the west. Ten of these buildings still stand today, and eight of them are now part of Circus World Museum. During the Ringling occupancy, the river was wider and higher than it is today because the Waterworks dam, once located one-half mile downstream, created a pool of water through the Ringlingville area, while another dam stood one-third mile upstream near Oak Street. The power of the Baraboo River had been harnessed as early as 1839, when the predecessor to the Waterworks dam was built, and eventually five dams in the Baraboo area tamed five miles of white water that provided power for seventeen mills. The Waterworks dam was removed in 1998, further exposing the remains of a suspension footbridge just upstream that, during the Ringling era, allowed residents and workers to cross the river to the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad yards.