The Lake Heron Dam Company was incorporated by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Maine, in 1846. The purpose of the company was to make, construct, and maintain a dam on the Allagash River, below the Heron Lake so that logs and lumber could be transported from Heron Lake into Chamberlain Lake and then down the Penobscot River.

Heron Lake Dam (now known as Churchill Dam) was built at the outlet of Churchill Lake, Maine, at the head of the head of the Allagash River. The Heron Lake Dam was designed to raise the water level of Churchill and Eagle Lakes, backing up the water almost to Chamberlain Dam, where a second dam was built to serve as a lock, so that logs could easily be floated into Chamberlain Lake, continue down the Allagash River and eventually end up in Bangor (Bennett 79). The act of incorporation also allowed the company to charge a toll for the use of the dam to transport logs and lumber (Acts and Resolves 495).

The original Heron Lake Dam was replaced in 1925, but this dam was washed out by spring ice in 1954. In 1968 a stone and cribwork structure was built; however, this design was only supposed to last 20 years at most. Logging traffic caused the dam to sag and deteriorate. Voters rejected replacing the dam twice, in 1987 and in 1990, but in 1996 repairs were voted on, and $1.4 million dollars was allocated to rebuilding the dam. Work on the dam began in 1997 to create a cement structure, this time it was designed to last a century (Adams 1).