Lake Cochituate Dam
Why it's listed
Lake Cochituate Dam is a small control dam on the west side of upper Lake Cochituate in Framingham, Massachusetts. Built in 1890, it has a concrete body with a 62-foot overflow and a rubble granite core. It was constructed under the supervision of Desmond Fitzgerald, then an engineer with the Boston Water Board. The present structure replaced two earlier wooden dams on the same site, the first built in 1846 with the Cochituate Aqueduct and the second in 1857. The Metropolitan Water Board took over the lake and dam in 1898, and the reservoir was removed from service in the late 1930s and passed to the parks division of the Metropolitan District Commission. It now lies in a rural state park and is recorded as in good condition with no alterations. It was listed as an example of evolving dam-building technology within the metropolitan water supply system and for its link to the Cochituate Aqueduct.
Significance in brief: The dam is argued to be an example of the evolving technology of dam construction within the Metropolitan Water Supply System. It is also significant for its association with the Cochituate Aqueduct. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89002250, listed January 18, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | NW side of Lake Cochituate, Framingham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | January 18, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002250 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architect / builder | Desmond Fitzgerald, engineer |
| Architectural style | Control dam (small dam type, concrete with rubble granite core) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Engineering, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as good, with no alterations; the reservoir was removed from water-supply service in the late 1930s and transferred to the MDC parks division, and the dam sits in a state park. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.31500, -71.38409 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89002250.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6475419
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.