On 8 Mar 1878 the certificate of registration for a dam was granted to the Carrick Range Water Supply Company. At this time there is no record of who constructed the dam. This dam was much smaller than Tippett's Dam (location #167) which the company had built close by in 1875. It is known that the volume of water expected to be delivered by the company's race had fallen well short of expectations. It was also decreasing with time due to the lack of maintenance, due to lack of money. It may be that Tippett's Dam had proved too large for the volume of water available. Therefore the company had constructed a smaller dam, just upstream - the Carrick Dam.

The Carrick Range Water Supply Company was in a serious financial position. The water race had been completed from Coal Creek to Menzies Terrace, by using all of it's own money plus a large government mortgage. There was less water being supplied and the whole race was in poor condition. It may be that the company decided to seel the Carrick Dam at this time. Details of the sale of Tippett's Dam (#167) have survived, however not for the Carrick Dam. Although not complete, the transfer certificate for the Carrick Dam does mention the first owners of Tippett's Dam, Charles Tippett (1) miner, and David Anderson Jolly. Therefore, it may be that in 1887, along with Tippett's Dam, Charles Tippett (1) and J A Jolly (store owner and investor of Cromwell) also purchased the Carrick Dam.