On this site in Foxborough, a circular granite reservoir was erected by Union Straw Works in 1858, with a windmill drawing water up from it so it could flow by gravity to the factory on Wall Street. In 1909, plans by the Foxborough Historical Society to use the reservoir as a museum proved unworkable. Before that, the reservoir site had been occupied by a powder house erected in 1804 after voters decided to stop storing the town's gunpowder in the garret of the meeting house on the common. Foxborough's first municipal building, the town house, was erected here in 1857 to provide space for town offices and a police lockup, and the town's first fire station stood to the rear of the lot. From 1858 to 1876, the private English and Classical High School leased space in the town house, after which the town added a school wing for the first public high school for local students. The town house and school wing were destroyed by fire on June 4, 1900, and three firefighters lost their lives. The Center School was built here in 1901, serving high school students until 1928 and elementary students until 1963, after which it was demolished and the present town hall was erected.