Foxborough Pumping Station
Also known as: Foxborough Pumping Station #1 Waterworks District
Why it's listed
Foxborough's first public water supply is preserved at a 26.6-acre waterworks district off Chestnut Street. Its centerpiece is a one-story, L-shaped pumping station of Taunton brick, completed in 1891 to plans by Boston architect Ernest N. Boyden and built by William O'Connell of Canton. Each of its three rooms, for engine, boiler and coal, has its own pyramidal slate roof, and the engine room has a large Romanesque arched window. Other resources include a 1953 storage garage, three 1948 driven wells, man-made Fales Pond and the abandoned original well field of about twenty-four pipe heads. A 1989 chemical building and a 1972 well are noncontributing. The district reflects a long local effort: a waterworks vote failed in 1890 and passed in 1891 after the charter was changed to allow a majority vote. Boyden had designed several other Massachusetts pumping stations, and the Foxborough station follows his typical Queen Anne approach. The town still owns and uses the site for water supply.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the district as the town's original public water supply, built after more than a decade of planning and two Town Meeting votes. The pumping station is a surviving example of work by waterworks architect Ernest N. Boyden, whose designs commonly used the Queen Anne style. The site keeps its original station, pond and well field remnants along with later water-supply additions.
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 05001362, listed December 6, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 25 Pumping Station Rd., Foxborough |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | December 6, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05001362 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Architect Ernest N. Boyden of Boston; built by William O'Connell of Canton |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Engineering |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a waterworks; the boiler and coal rooms now serve as storage, and the original 24-well field is abandoned. Two of three 1948 wells are working. |
| Acreage | 26.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.07763, -71.23819 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 05001362.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5477092
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.