Upper and Lower Dams

Upper and Lower Dams. Mt. Gilead State Park. , The Early Mill , For over 175 years, various lowhead dams (similar to this one) have impounded water at this location on Sam's Creek. In 1841, Richard House built the first dam here from wood, dirt, and gravel. Often, hard rains washed out the dam and it had to be rebuilt. House also built one of the first grist mills in the county, where settlers brought grain to be ground into flour., Dam building was critical to the early settlers of Morrow County, who relied upon the resulting "mill ponds" to create power. Water from the pond was channeled through the "mill race," where the force of the water turned the mill's waterwheel and powered the equipment., As teenagers, Richard House's sons John and Walter took over operation of the grist mill. They eventually added a saw mill and planing mill to the operation. In the early 1900s, Richard's grandson Davies George and great-grandson Ernest George joined the business. The mill operated until 1904, when the property was sold to farmer Wesley Shaffer., Building A New State Park , The 1930s and 1940s marked the beginning of an expansion program for the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Division of Conservation and Natural Resources; this period saw a busy program of dam building around the state to create lakes for fishing and recreation., In 1928, the Ohio Department of Agriculture purchased 92 acres from Wesley Shaffer, with the intention to build a public lake and state game resort. At this time, the upper dam was rebuilt and the lower dam was added to form a second lake. The project continued through 1930, as the lake beds were excavated and banks were filled. Other infrastructure work included cutting down the hillsides along Route 95 to permit a clear view of the entire site from the highway. Additionally, 50,000 trees were planted surrounding the lakes. The new state park opened in the fall of 1930.