Chittenden Mills was named for Thomas Chittenden, the first governor of Vermont and the great-great-grandfather of Frank Howe. In 1885, Frank Howe and his father, Lucian, rebuilt the mill, changing from grinding with millstones to the new gradual reduction roller process. Grain was shipped in on the B&L Railroad from the Midwest, and the flour was sold over a wide area of northern Vermont. Four Tyler turbines were powered by the Brown's River. The miller's house was built in 1859. Until 1929, a Towne Lattice Truss covered bridge spanned the gorge on the site of the present footbridge.