Mirimichi in the native tongue means laughing waters because it is primarily spring-fed. Originally, the rights to the water in Lake Mirimichi were owned by a mill in Dodgeville. Later they were purchased by the city of Attleboro.  Some water comes from Turnpike Lake and enters Lake Mirimichi near the Mirimichi Street bridge.  A major flow of water in the area comes from the base of the mountains in New Hampshire.

In 1925 the city of Attleboro appropriated the initial $55,000 as the first step in securing a newer and greater water supply for the city by building two new dams to create Mirimichi Pond, Foxboro, a reservoir destined to hold more than 350,000,000 gallons of water. The level of the water was to be raised five feet above the level of the previous several years.

In 1926 several camps and a dozen cottages and buildings in South Foxboro were moved back from the shore of the lake and the shores were cleared of brush and trees.

In 1927 construction of the new dam was finished. There still was difficulty in securing one piece of real estate in Mansfield desired for the carrying out of the plan.