During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Winnipesaukee River powered gristmills, woolen mills, and other textile mills along its banks through Tilton, Northfield, and into Franklin, where many dams were built and where several grinding stones can still be found in the river today. The mills prospered into the 1900s, but eventually fell into disrepair, and the dams built to power them gave way to nature. Heavy industrial use took its toll on the river in Tilton and surrounding communities, and by the 1960s construction debris and wastewater were more prevalent than greenery and clear water. In 1972, the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program was created to control water pollution in the Lakes Region, including the Winnipesaukee River. In the early 1990s, plans by a hydroelectric developer to build a dam and diversion pipe near the park threatened to divert water from this section of the river and make it unusable for river enthusiasts during most of the spring. Local paddling groups responded by organizing river clean-up days and a New Year's Day Kayak event, drawing local and national press attention and helping communities protect and preserve the river and its shores as important natural resources.