Construction of the dam began in 1834 making it one of the oldest storage dams in the United States. The dam created Mill Pond.
The first mill to be powered by the dam was a grist mill.
The Ascutney Mill Dam Company rules established the company and how it would operate. It established what times the dam would open and close depending on the season. This infuenced workers' lives by controlling when they had to work.
The old sawmill was rebuilt as a powerhouse by the E. G. Lamson Company during the Civil War to make cutlery, firearms, and later cotton. It was two and a half stories tall and was powered by a turbine.
This map shows the cutlery shop, saw mill and power house.
This census shows that the mill was making machinery and machinery tools. It was powered by steam and water wheels.
A large brick cotton mill. The rest of the operation took place at the middle dam.
The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows that the mill was heated with wood stoves and lit with kerosene lamps. It had a 65 foot chimney and a wheel room and machine shop on the first floor.
1906 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a vacant factory.