Cedar Cliff Falls was constructed in 1887 as a stone dam for the Harbison Flour Mill,1 which sat just behind it on the south side of Massie Creek. The Falls replaced an old dam that had been destroyed in a flood.
The Falls were built with a slight curve upstream, as many dams are, to absorb the water pressure behind it. While it was being constructed, the water flowing from upstream was continually pumped using a cofferdam.