Several articles from the Austin-American Statesman in the late 1800s make mention of the dam on the Ney property. Elisabet Ney was so fond of the pond created by the dam that she named it Lake Ney and rowed on it in a canoe. The dam was built on Waller Creek a few years before the construction of Elisabet Ney’s home and studio, Formosa (now the Elisabet Ney Museum). Though it is no longer a functioning dam, much of the stonework is still preserved today, and can be viewed by visitors to the Museum. 

The dam was built by the military in the late 1800s to provide water to troops during training exercises. In construction, the dam bears similarities to stonework at Camp Mabry. The dam has been preserved by the City of Austin to recognize its significance to history and civil engineering. Only a handful of early Texas dams are preserved today, with the Ney dam being the only one built by the military.