 After European settlers arrived in 1660, the river was initially known as the Five Mile River.Philip Dexter located Falmouth's first grist mill at its mouth around 1700, and by 1795 there were three mills along the river with a corresponding decline in fisheries.A "herring war" began in 1798 with a bylaw giving an elected committee the right to remove any obstructions to allow fish free passage from April 1 to June 10.