Before electric lights and utilities, the Roseau River powered daily life in the community. It provided transportation, mechanical power, and a foundation for early industry.

In the early 1800s, fur trading and farming became the county's first industries. The river provided a key route for travel and trade. Settlers cleared land and raised crops. As the community developed in the following decades, the need to process the products of the land and forests led to the construction of mills along the river.

One of the earliest and most important was the Jacklin Mill. In 1892, Ben Jacklin built a combination flour, shingle, and lumber mill near the Center Street Bridge. It quickly became a busy place along the river. Farmers brought their grain to be ground into flour, while logs from nearby forests were cut into lumber. Teams of horses hauled loads in and out, and at least one family even lived in the mill during the winter season.

To keep the machinery running, a dam was built on the Roseau River in 1897. Called the Jacklin Dam, it supplied water for the mill race. The current powered the mill’s equipment. It also helped maintain enough river depth so logs could be floated downstream during the spring drives in the early decades of the 20th century. For years, it was a familiar gathering place and local fishing spot.

Just upstream from the dam, another operation soon joined the activity along the river. In 1909, William Oveson built a planing mill at the end of the Jacklin mill race. His mill employed 17 men and teams of horses to handle the work. That same year, the operation cut about one million feet of lumber for the St. Hilaire Lumber Company. Logs were floated down the Roseau River from as far upstream as Penturen; it could take three to four weeks before reaching Roseau.

Life around the dam was not always quiet. Stories from the time tell of boys gathering along the riverbank to fish or explore the busy mill area. For instance, one tale recalled a bundle of dynamite meant to catch suckers drifting downstream, only to explode and rattle windows in town. A reminder that the river was both useful and unpredictable.

As the town grew, power needs expanded beyond the mills. In the early 1900s, electricity in Roseau was generated by a privately operated plant. By 1913, the city approved bonds for a water and light plant, taking on the job of providing power for the growing community.

From water wheels and grinding stones to generators, the Roseau River drove the town’s growth. Dams, mills, and the power plant marked the community’s effort to harness the flowing river.