Browns Race, the power canal, was constructed in 1815.
Today, a street called Browns Race follows the old raceway.
Diverting water from a point about 500 feet south of High Falls,
the raceway was 1221 feet long (later extended), 30-feet wide and
five-and-a-half feet deep. Even before the race was completed, a
cotton mill was constructed at a location which was once called
Browns Island (north side of Commercial Street and east of the
remaining raceway). Spillways funneled water from the race through
the mills. Mill lots between the race and the gorge each had the
right to a certain amount of water from the race. All buildings
on the east side of the race were reached via foot bridges;
overhead shafts transmitted power to the west side of the race
and to the buildings which fronted on Mill Street. Eventually
the race was covered by a wooden plank roadway. In 1991-92 portions
of the original Browns Race were uncovered; concrete planks delineate
the original width of the raceway.