By the 1870s, a growing Brookline needed to increase the water supply to the town. After failing to gain access to the supply of Lake Cochituate or adjoining municipalities, an authorization was obtained to tap the Charles River. This pumping station was constructed on Cow Island along side the Charles in West Roxbury, not far from the Brookline border, the send water to Brookine.

Image Courtesy the Brookline Preservation Department