Brenham Water Works
Also known as: #167
Why it's listed
Brenham Water Works is a two-story, five-bay painted brick building on South Austin Street, completed around 1884-85. It was built under an August 1884 contract between the Brenham City Council and W.C. Conner for the Brenham Water Company, which received a 25-year right to supply water for general use and fire fighting. The plant and well reservoir cost $80,000. The city bought the plant in 1894 for $40,000 and added a purification plant and reservoir in 1924. The building shows Italianate features: segmental arched windows and round arched doorways with molded brick hoods, corner quoins, a corbeled cornice, and a flat portico on wooden columns. It remains largely unaltered and is still run by the city. Its importance rests on its architecture, as one of only two surviving Italianate public buildings in Brenham, and on its part in the city's growth through centralized water service and later municipal management.
Significance in brief: It is an excellent example of Italianate design applied to a public building and one of only two such properties left in Brenham. It also reflects the role of centralized water supply in the city's growth in the late 19th century.
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 90000465, listed March 29, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1105 S. Austin, Brenham |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | March 29, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000465 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1884-1941 |
| Architectural style | Victorian/Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good condition and largely unaltered; still operated by the City of Brenham as a water facility. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 30.15899, -96.39767 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 90000465.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110000826
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.