The metal flagpole in the center of Foxborough Common is a welcome sight to townsfolk and visitors alike, an iconic landmark that has stood tall and survived the elements for 100 years.

But the familiar old pole is reaching the end of its useful life. Rusting and in poor shape, it will be replaced in the spring with a 100-foot-tall fiberglass model, thanks to a private fund-raising campaign that in a few months has collected more than $40,000 for the project.

James DeVellis, chairman of Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen, said a volunteer group decided in September 2015 to raise the money for a new pole through private donations -- rather than asking for tax dollars -- to reflect the town’s history of citizen involvement and volunteering.

“We felt very strongly that our Common had a long history of generations that stepped up to provide a meeting area [for] our town, and it came from civic pride,’’ he said.

Officials credit town historian Jack Authelet with bringing attention to the symbolic importance of the effort.

“This is who we are,’’ Authelet said in a flier asking for donations. “This is the very center -- the physical and philosophical center of this place we call home.’’

Foxborough Common wasn’t always the center of civic life, according to a history of the town incorporated in 1778. It wasn’t until the 1850s that Erastus Payson Carpenter, founder of the Sylvanian Association, organized a group of residents “to transform the wasteland in the center of town into a public area’’ by planting trees and grass and surrounding them with an ornate iron fence.

Later generations donated money for lights, bandstands, and war memorials, and Foxborough Common became the site of concerts, civic ceremonies, peaceful demonstrations, political rallies, Easter egg hunts, and annual Teddy bear picnics.

DeVellis said $42,000 was raised for the new flagpole in 120 separate donations, ranging from pennies in jars at businesses and schools to a $12,000 contribution from the Partners in Patriotism. Money also came in online through a gofundme site and Facebook and at town events like a Red White and Blue Day.

Town Manager William Keegan said the goal is to have the new pole up by Memorial Day, when the annual Memorial Day ceremony will take place on the Common at the flagpole.

“The effort put forth by the community for this project was tremendous [and] demonstrates what Foxborough is all about,’’ Keegan said. “This is the heart of our town to many, and the sweat and volunteerism that goes into it is wonderful to see.’’

The town Department of Public Works will manage the project and do any needed construction and landscaping work, he said.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.