In April 1923, snow melt and torrential rain caused water levels to rise dramatically in the lakes created by the 1907 dam, bringing serious and costly damage to downtown Ellsworth. Upriver, Brimmer's Bridge dam broke through, as did a sawmill's wing dam, sending timber and fast-moving water downstream. Rising water carried off buildings near the river, including the Farmer's Union Storehouse, which lifted the steel bridge off its foundation. Up to a quarter million board feet of saw logs, thousands of cords of pulp and stave wood, and a huge boat shed housing three yachts, a sloop, and a tugboat were all swept downstream.