The upper mill pond was created in 1846 by damming Pettibone Creek. A mill race entered the pond beneath the road and powered the woolen and woodworking mills. The race for the grist mill left the pond near the dam at the south end of the pond. The Pettibone Mill burned in 1888 and again in 1916 and was never rebuilt. The woodworking shop burned and was rebuilt, later becoming the doorknob factory. In 1938 Henry Ford I used the same water power to run a modern mill manufacturing carburetors, and this building still stands on the west side of the mill pond.