Bennington, VT

Bennington installed its fountain in Bennington Center. News articles suggest that the driving force behind Bennington's effort to get a fountain from the National Humane Alliance was Mrs. H. S. Bingham, the wife of the owner of the Bennington Paper Box Factory on Main Street. The photo on the left above by Frederick D. Burt shows the fountain on Monument Avenue in Old Bennington in 1907. The plaque on the fountain has a date of 1906. The fountain is one of the smaller NHA fountains.

In 1991, the fountain was restored by Old Bennington as part of an effort to restore Upper Monument Avenue. They did something different however. The water trough structure was converted to a water fountain for passers by. Water comes out of the mouth of the two lions and flows into the large basin when someone uses the drinking fountain. We have not seen a similar setup anywhere else. They also commissioned an artist to produce the lions heads (on the left , above) which replaced the originals (sample on the right, above) which we presume were missing. They also made them available for sale for $1,900 each! As you can see, they are a bit different than the originals!


The fountain as it exists today.

For more on the National Humane Alliance Fountains click here.


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