Built in 1864 along the dells of Bridge Creek, Dells Mill was one of several water-powered grist mills that ground the wheat dominating Wisconsin’s Civil War-era economy and served area farmers. After wheat production moved westward, its owners adapted the building to mill flour and grind feed. Trips to the mill could occupy a family for an entire day, with farmers often fishing the millpond while waiting, and the pond also supplied winter ice. A store, hotel, and school developed nearby to serve the growing community. Creating the millpond required a dam to flood upstream land, and the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature passed legislation enabling dam construction in 1840. The mill’s base was carved into sandstone bedrock, and its structure was made of massive hand-hewn timbers secured with wooden pegs, while water turbines powered the milling process. In 1919, a concrete dam replaced the original log structure, and the mill operated continuously until 1968.