 The dam created at the Portage Mill to operate the saw mill was increasingly raised and had the effect of raising the water level of Portage Lake by an additional five to six feet, flooding the low-lying land at the far send of the lake.From 1860, farmers in the area began to complain about the mill operators practice of periodically raising the Lake level to accommodate their needs for power to operate the saw mill.Additionally, the mill company began to charge increasingly high fees to use their pier at the Portage outlet.