The Woolen Mill dam, seen from Bridge Road, was built in 1939. It is the third dam at the site. It was not built by the mill owner, nor did it power the mill. It was built about 40 years after the mill stopped using the river for power. This dam was built to create an impoundment for public swimming. Except for the old, original mill race wall, it is owned by the City of Cedarburg.

People became sick from swimming in the stagnated, impounded water and the swimming area was closed. That led to the construction of the community pool. 

The present Woolen Mill dam we see today is not at all historic and the Wisconsin Historical Society agrees. This dam is not original, did not power a mill, did not contribute to the establishment of Cedarburg, and does not have the historic significance once imagined. It does not provide any service or usefulness. No matter how much some might want there be a connection between the mill and this dam, there isn't one.

It's really nothing more than an extremely expensive piece of deteriorating concrete that harms our natural resource. A question that local officials will hopefully ask before spending millions on it is, "Why do we even need a dam there?"