Benjamin Gardner built a flour mill here in 1828 after building a dam across the outlet just west of the mill in 1826. That dam, which today maintains the only remaining mill pond on the outlet, was known as Tomlinson’s Pond and was named after George Tomlinson. It was the second dam on the outlet, and it can be seen on the property directly west of this location. After fire destroyed the Gardner Mill sometime between 1828 and 1844, George Davis built a second mill, with castings made by the local foundry Hicks & Bailey. On July 25, 1844, The Countryman of Perry described the second mill as a 60-by-50-foot structure with four runs of stone. In 1878, George Tomlinson acquired the mill and named it the Silver Lake Mills of Perry. The mill packaged flour under the brands Minnesota Patent, Tomlinson’s Best, Silver Lake, Wyoming, and Orange Blossom. After Tomlinson died on May 11, 1902, his family operated the mill until it closed in 1937.