In 1845 Anson Dart built the first dam and sawmill here, raising the level of Green Lake and forming the Millpond and Dartford Bay. In 1850 John Sherwood opened a new outlet from the pond with a mill race and built a 4-story grist mill. Over the years, the dam required several reconstructions to maintain the lake level, including a major change in 1900 by Victor Lawson. In 1986 heavy rains and high waters eroded the earthern embankment, and the Dept. of Natural Resources ordered the lake level lowered until the City of Green Lake could repair the dam. With no tax money available, a committee raised $150,000 in voluntary contributions, and in 1988 repairs using steel sheathing strengthened the dam.