The Framingham Reservoir No. 2 Dam and Gatehouse is a historic water works facility in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popu ...

. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

and

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

are located west of the junction of Winter and Fountain Streets, and impound a branch of the

Sudbury River The Sudbury River is a tributary of the Concord River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 Originati ...

. The reservoir, which is also known as the Brackett Reservoir, was built 1877-79 as part of an expansion of the water supply of the city of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The dam is in length, with a centered overfall area. The core of the dam is granite rubble laid in cement, with earthen embankments. The overfall area is faced on the downstream side with cut granite, and earthen embankment on the upstream side. It is topped with granite and originally had iron mounts for flashboards. The gatehouse is a rectangular granite structure with a steep hip roof, a brick chimney and an eyebrow dormer. The door and windows are in round-arch openings. It contains gate controls for regulating water flow from the reservoir and from a pipe connected to Reservoir No. 1, and a pipe connected to the Ashland Reservoir. The dam was built by contractors from upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and the gatehouse was built by James Fagin of Boston to a design by the Boston city architect, George Clough. The Metropolitan Water Board, established in 1895 to oversee the city's water supply, took the reservoir out of service soon afterward due to its poor water quality. The dam and gatehouse were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Framingham Reservoir No. 2 Dam And Gatehouse Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Gatehouses (waterworks) Reservoirs in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Framingham, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Dams in Massachusetts Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places 1877 establishments in Massachusetts

See also

References