Head v. Amoskeag Mfg. Co.

From Conservapedia

In Head v. Amoskeag Mfg. Co., 113 U.S. 9, 16-19 (1885), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the eminent domain power of States to provide quintessentially public goods, such as public roads, toll roads, ferries, canals, railroads, and public parks. Though use of the eminent domain power was sparse at the time of the founding, many States did have so-called Mill Acts, which authorized the owners of grist mills operated by water power to flood upstream lands with the payment of compensation to the upstream landowner.

The early grist mills were common carriers--quasi-public entities. These were "public uses" in the fullest sense of the word, because the public could legally use and benefit from them equally.