Regionally ubiquitous and visually striking, small water-powered factories known as milldams clung to the streams of the developing country since the late 1600s and were the epicenter of many communities and an integral part of pre-industrial American economy. These milldams are culturally and historically significant, yet they are detrimental to the American river system. The ideal option regarding milldams would be to strive for a balance while preserving some of these historic structures while minimizing any further damage to the rivers and their ecosystem. Numerous projects have successfully restored the functioning of the mills and/or preserved the dam structure along with the historical milldam buildings.