{"nrhp_refnum":"00000113","name":"Hydrant No. 3 House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Holliston","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.18341704000005,"lon":-71.44428050299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-03-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small one-story, wood-frame engine house on Washington Street in Holliston, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, built about 1871 by local carpenter Samuel A. Sanger. It is also known as the Metcalf Pump House.","why_significant":"It is the oldest surviving firehouse in Holliston and one of only two identified 19th-century municipal buildings in the town. It is typical of the town's third-quarter 19th-century engine houses, with a rear hose-drying tower, and it records the growth of municipal fire protection tied to Holliston's industrial expansion. It retains integrity and is significant at the local level.","narrative":"Built about 1871 on Washington Street in Holliston, this small wood-frame engine house sheltered Hydrant No. 3, a hand-pumped fire engine bought by the town in 1867. Carpenter Samuel A. Sanger was paid $903.90 to build it. The one-story, gable-front building covers 576 square feet and rests on fieldstone piles, so dripping water could drain through the floorboards. A square hose tower with a concave mansard roof and cornice brackets carries the Italianate ornament. The tower was used to hang and dry leather hoses. The town phased out use of the building by about 1900, and it was reportedly mothballed in 1899. It is the oldest surviving firehouse in Holliston and typical of the engine houses built there in the third quarter of the 19th century. It is also one of only two 19th-century municipal buildings identified in town. It now stands vacant, with boarded windows and a deteriorated tower, but still shows how the town organized fire protection as its industry and population grew.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1871-1949","architect_builder":"Samuel A. Sanger","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The building is vacant, with its windows boarded over for security. The town re-acquired it in 1995 and stained it red, except for the hose tower, which is deteriorated.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.634174-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7961/63796168/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/00000113.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000113/a2772b14f2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000113/a2772b14f2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HollistonMA_HydrantNumberThreeHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HollistonMA_HydrantNumberThreeHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796168","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrant_No._3_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5954310"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/hydrant-no-3-house-00000113/"}