In the 19th century, the settlement along Deep River was a popular trading post. Store owner John Wood built the first dam here in 1836 to power a gristmill for local farmers. The resulting pond, which covered hundreds of acres, later became known as a picturesque stop along the Lincoln Highway. On a June morning in 1922, villagers awoke to find the mill pond dry and gone—muskrats were blamed for the dam's collapse. Lake George in downtown Hobart was created by a similar impoundment.

The original gristmill is preserved at Deep River County Park , which covers 1,100 acres on both sides of the Old Lincoln Highway.

Wood's Historic Grist Mill