The town by 1896 provided seven hand-pumped wells for this purpose. Although the community at first resisted establishing a municipal water supply, growing demand from vacationers who owned property in the town, combined with increasing fire insurance rates for areas not covered by a municipal water system, prompted its construction. The Falmouth Water Supply Company, a private venture controlled by summer residents, was established in 1898. The complex was built on land owned by one of the proprietors, Joseph Story Fay, who had also given Good Will Park to the town. The town in 1900 voted to exercise an option to purchase the company from its owners, a process completed two years later. The town eventually also purchased a number of other private water providers.