The water in the Tysse river has long been utilized for operating a sawmill. The sawmill in Tysse is first mentioned in 1630, but it was likely present in the 1500s as well. Like other sawmills in Ryfylke, this one probably supplied timber to England and the Netherlands.
In 1912, the waterfall rights were sold from both farms at Rød and from one of the two farms in Tysse. The waterfall rights were purchased by traveling speculators from Stavanger, Odd Roalkvam and Jakob E. Vik. In 1917, they sold the waterfall rights to a lawyer in Stavanger, Einar Meling. Through Meling’s estate, the waterfall rights “disappeared” to Rogalandsbanken, later Bøndenes Bank/Fokus Bank. Through bank mergers, the waterfall rights eventually ended up with Den Danske Bank. The property rights to the waterfall are held by one of the Tysse farms and Den Danske Bank. Småkraft leases and acts as developer for the power plant.
