Construction of the canal was not easy, as towns wanted the prosperity it brought. According to legend, people in Gilead (Grand Rapids), angry that their town was not on the canal route, sneaked out at night and blew up construction until Ohio built a side cut to extend commerce to their side of the river. Originally built from timber in the 1830s, the roller mill dam at the village of Providence raised and maintained water levels for the Miami and Erie Canal, while also helping control bank erosion, a serious threat to the canals. The Providence Dam was reinforced with concrete in 1908 and again in 1991, and it measures 1,888 feet long and 8 feet, 5 inches tall.