In 1869 Carl Edward Riedel built a pioneer dam whose remains lie 250 yards west to power his sawmill, gristmill, and cotton gin. That same year, German immigrant Max Krueger helped install Riedel's gin, the first steam cotton gin in Karnes County, after having shortly before built barracks near Helena to house 50 U.S. Cavalrymen. Within two years a town named Riddleville grew up near Riedel's industries in his honor. On June 9, 1871, U.S. postal records were moved from the Ecleto post office, 3 miles up the creek at Kelly's Stage Stand, to the post office there. Between 1870 and 1886 Riddleville was one of the five principal towns in Karnes County, located at the crossing of the Helena-Gonzales Road and the Yorktown-Sutherland Springs Road, and in 1876 its population was about 75. In 1905 the town's name was changed to Gillett. Using lumber from his mill, Riedel built a hotel that was destroyed by fire about 1905, and he immediately built a second hotel. Many homes and business houses in the area were constructed of Riedel's lumber, which still survives in Karnes County buildings today.