Fall River Waterworks

Fall River Waterworks
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Postcard of the 1873 standpipe water tower.
Location	Fall River, Massachusetts
Built	1873
Architect	Wilson,H.M.
Architectural style	Other
NRHP reference No.	81000714
Added to NRHP	December 7, 1981

Fall River Waterworks is a 22-acre historic site located at the eastern end Bedford Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, along the shore of North Watuppa Pond. The property, which is still used as a water works for the city, contains the original pumping station, intake house and 121 ft tall standpipe water tower. The system was originally built between 1872 and 1875, and expanded or upgraded many times. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

The property also contains several non-contributing modern structures, that are still in use as part of the water works, including the 1975 filtration plant, the mid-20th century administration building, maintenance buildings and two large steel water tanks. The water supply system provided an average of 11 million gallons per day to Fall River and several surrounding communities.

History

Between 1870 and 1875, the City of Fall River experienced remarkable population growth from 16,000 to 45,000. To keep up with demand for clean water, the Fall River Waterworks was established, and constructed between 1872 and 1875 along the shore of North Watuppa Pond, a large naturally-occuring water body at the east end of the city. The orginal buildings were constructed from local Fall River granite, mostly in the Ruskinian Gothic style.

The National Register designation includes the original pumping station that consists of the engine house, boiler house and coal house, the intake building, the standpipe water tower, as well as the 1908 Narrows gate house located at the southern end of North Watuppa Pond, adjacent to Interstate 195. In addition to the original water works buildings, the designation also includes the stone ruins of an 1864 ice house, located to the north of the main complex, on property that is now part of the Fall River Water Department watershed.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fall River, Massachusetts
• Water tower