[0:04] THE NINE-MILE CREEK VALLEY GIVES  THE IMPRESSION OF AN UNTOUCHED,   [0:08] NATURAL REMNANT. BUT THE TRUTH IS HUMAN INFLUENCE  IS A PART OF ITS LONG HISTORY. ONE MORE RECENT   [0:15] STORY OF PEOPLE LIVING AND WORKING ALONGSIDE  THIS INDELIBLE STREAM BEGINS IN THE 1870S.  [0:21] RIGHT HERE IN THIS SPOT IN THE LOWER NINE MILE CREEK VALLEY, [0:24] JUST WEST  OF 104TH STREET AND HUMBOLDT, [0:27] WILLIAM MCAFEE BUILT A MILL AND IN ORDER  TO POWER IT [0:30] HE BUILT A LARGE EARTHEN DAM ACROSS NINE MILE CREEK, JUST UPSTREAM. [0:35] THE MILL WAS THREE STORIES TALL AND IT GROUND WHEAT,  RYE, GRAHAM, AND BUCKWHEAT FOR FLOUR AND FODDER.  [0:41] THE EARTHEN DAM STRETCHED FROM VALLEY WALL TO  VALLEY WALL. A BYPASS PIPE WAS USED TO PUSH WATER   [0:48] THROUGH THE MILL AND POWER ITS MACHINERY.  THE MILL POND CREATED BY THIS DAM WAS BIG.  [0:55] IT STRETCHED AT LEAST A HALF OF A MILE  UPSTREAM AND IT LEFT A SCAR ON THE   [1:00] LANDSCAPE THAT LASTED FOR DECADES AFTER  THE DAM AND MILL WERE BOTH LONG GONE.  [1:04] THE MILL PROVIDED GRIST AND FLOUR UP UNTIL  1905. THAT YEAR, THE DAM WASHED OUT. NOT THE   [1:10] FIRST TIME THAT HAD HAPPENED, BUT WITH INCREASED  COMPETITION FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS MILL DISTRICT,  [1:15] IT WAS NEVER REBUILT AND THE MILL, AFTER  41 YEARS OF OPERATION, CLOSED FOR GOOD.  [1:22] BY THE 1930S THE MILL AND ITS  EQUIPMENT HAD ALL BEEN CLEARED AWAY.  [1:26] THE STORY DOES NOT END THERE. A FAMILY HOME WAS  BUILT IN THIS SPOT IN THE 1950S. PEOPLE LIVED   [1:33] IN THE VALLEY ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL 1987. THAT WAS THE YEAR OF A GREAT FLOOD WHICH   [1:39] WASHED OUT THE PROPERTY AND THE  ACCESS BRIDGE. AT THAT POINT,   [1:43] THE CITY BOUGHT OUT THE PROPERTY AND THE  BUILDINGS WERE FULLY DEMOLISHED IN 1989   [1:47] USING A TEST FIRE FOR FIREFIGHTER TRAINING. NOW-A-DAYS, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,   [1:52] YOU CAN STILL SEE THE REMNANTS OF THE OLD EARTHEN DAMS THAT WERE BUILT TO POWER THE MILL, [1:58] AND YOU CAN STILL SEE THE OLD ROAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HUBOLDT TO GET ACCESS TO SITE. [2:03] PEOPLE ARE STILL A PART OF THIS LAND. FROM PARK VISITORS [2:07] TO CITY STAFF WORKING AS CARETAKERS TO  THE LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS AND PARK INFRASTRUCTURE. [2:12] THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS, NINE MILE CREEK KEEPS  CARVING ITS WAY TO ITS CONFLUENCE WITH THE MINNESOTA RIVER, [2:18] READY TO BEAR WITNESS TO  FUTURE STORIES THAT ARE YET TO BE TOLD.