Madison Mill and Tenney Locks resulted from Governor Leonard Farwell’s 1849 decision to straighten the meandering Catfish River (later renamed the
Yahara River) and build a dam. The dam provided power for a sawmill and a flour mill built in 1851. The main mill building straddled the Yahara
River near Lake Mendota and was five stories high. The dam raised the lake level 4.5 feet and flooded many wetlands. In 1904 the Tenney Locks were
built at the outlet of Lake Mendota. In 1959 the locks were rebuilt on an old landfill site that closed before World War II. The locks have been
rebuilt and upgraded over time, most recently by Dane County in 2006. The lighthouse located here is the only one on the Yahara River chain of
lakes, but its strobe light operates only during storm conditions to guide boaters to the locks. 1540 Sherman Ave.
The first breakwater built here in 1847
Madison Mills East side of the Yahara River where the Tenney Park locks are now located Built 1850
A five-story tall flouring and grist mill, he first building in the Tenney/Lapham area, erected at the outlet of the Yahara Creek by Leonard J. Farwell.
White and Rodermund built a brewery just across Sherman Avenue in 1851. This brewery later the Hausmann Brewery, survived until the late 1940s
