The valley is tied to Nova Scotia's, and Canada's, earliest industrial activity since the discovery in 1798 of what is now known as the Pictou Coalfield in the Carboniferous Stellarton Basin.

The river experienced significant changes in the late 1960s due to industrial development and construction of transportation infrastructure.

This legislation included an agreement whereby the Government of Nova Scotia, beginning in 1967, would provide to a pulp mill to be located at Abercrombie a minimum of 25,000,000 imp gal (110,000 m3) per day.

The flooding of the reservoir also required the realignment of 6 km (3.7 mi) of the CN Rail line running between Stellarton and Oxford Junction, including the abandonment of several properties in the community of Sylvester.

A section measuring approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) in length through the communities of Union Centre and Rocklin has some cleared land for small family farms.