Fall River Waterworks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fall River Waterworks
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Postcard of the 1873 standpipe water tower
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Fall River, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1873 |
| Architect | H.M. Wilson |
| NRHP reference No. | 81000714 |
| Added to NRHP | December 7, 1981 |
The Fall River Waterworks is a special historic place in Fall River, Massachusetts. It covers about 22 acres of land. You can find it at the eastern end of Bedford Street, right by the North Watuppa Pond.
This site is still used today to provide water for the city. It has some really old parts, like the first pumping station, the building where water enters the system, and a tall 121-foot standpipe water tower. These original parts were built a long time ago, between 1872 and 1875. Over the years, the system has been updated and made bigger many times. Because it's so important and old, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
The waterworks also has newer buildings that help it work today. These include a water cleaning plant built in 1976, an office building from 1922, and other maintenance buildings. There are also two big steel water tanks from the mid-1900s. This whole system provides about 11 million gallons of water every day! It supplies water to Fall River and some towns nearby.
Contents
How the Fall River Waterworks Started
Between 1870 and 1875, the city of Fall River grew very fast. Many more people moved there. This meant the city needed a lot more water for drinking and for putting out fires.
To help with this, the Fall River Board of Water Commissioners was created in 1871. This group was in charge of making sure the city had enough water.
Building the First Waterworks
The main buildings for the waterworks were built between 1872 and 1875. They were placed along the shore of North Watuppa Pond. This pond is a large natural lake at the east side of the city.
The first buildings were made from local Fall River granite. They were designed in a style called Ruskinian Gothic. This style often looks grand and strong.
The Pumping Engines
The engine house was built to hold four large engines. These engines would pump water. Two engines were for the "high-service" system, which sent water to higher parts of the city. The other two were for the "low-service" system, for lower areas.
At first, only two engines were installed. The first engine started working in January 1874. It was built by the Boston Machine Company. This engine could pump 3 million gallons of water every day! It served the low-service system, sending water through a large 24-inch pipe down Bedford Street to downtown.
The high-service system began in 1875. It used a powerful Worthington duplex pumping engine. This engine could pump 5 million gallons of water daily. It sent water through a 16-inch pipe down Bedford Street. This pipe then split to reach the higher areas on both sides of the Quequechan River.
The pump house was designed so that any pump could be used for either the high or low systems if needed. This made the system very flexible. By 1876, over 45 miles of water pipes had been put in all over the city. These pipes ranged from 6 to 24 inches wide.
What Parts Are Historic?
The National Register of Historic Places includes several important parts of the Fall River Waterworks. These are:
- The original pumping station, which includes the engine house, boiler house, and coal house.
- The intake building, where water first enters the system.
- The tall standpipe water tower.
- The 1908 Narrows gate house. This building is located at the southern end of North Watuppa Pond, near Interstate 195.
