National Humane Alliance Fountain

Milwaukee, WI

Mitchell St, 8th & Forest Home Aves.

We now know for sure that Milwaukee, Wisconsin received two fountains. We believed that one was installed at Ogden Ave. & North Water St. and the other was placed at Mitchell St, 8th & Forest Home Aves. Thanks to Chad Czarkowski and Mark Daniel we were able to confirm our Newberry Library picture of the fountain at Ogden Ave. & North Water St.

And now thanks to Mark Daniel again, we have this great picture of the one at Mitchell St, 8th & Forest Home Aves. The streets have been renamed a bit and the original location is at the intersection of W. Mitchell Street, South 13th Street and West Forest Avenue. Click here for another great "holiday" picture of the fountain. You'll have to look carefully under the Christmas tree to find it!

However, the fountain is long gone. What happened to it? We don't know, but we'll keep searching!

Here's a timeline for this fountain coming to Milwaukee:

Timeline of Key Events (1905–1906)

Date	Event	Details	Stakeholders	Location
1905-08-14	Second fountain offer emerges	City Clerk Edwin Hinkel apprised that the National Humane Alliance would consider a second gift if a satisfactory site is selected. South Side advocates expect to satisfy the site criteria.	National Humane Alliance; City Clerk Edwin Hinkel; Ald. John Lemanski; South Side residents	Proposed: Triangle at Forest Home Ave, Eighth Ave, and Mitchell St
1905-08-15	Anticipated council fight over location	Several aldermen signal they will propose alternative sites; expectation of a “fine row” before settling. Anecdotal criticism among aldermen surfaces regarding influence.	City Council; Ald. John Lemanski; Ald. Melms	Competing proposals; initial focus on Eighth Ave & Mitchell St
1905-08-21	Formal confirmation of second gift intent and site criteria	F. B. Tilghman (Alliance VP) writes to City Clerk Hinkel: Alliance will donate a second fountain if the site is suitable—must be accessible from all sides and serve many working horses. L. T. Boyd named as local representative for site selection upon recovery.	F. B. Tilghman (National Humane Alliance VP); City Clerk Edwin Hinkel; L. T. Boyd; City officials; Ald. John Lemanski	Proposed: Triangle at Forest Home Ave, Eighth Ave, and Mitchell St; reference to first fountain at Ogden Ave & North Water St
1905-11-29	Shipment expected	Notice that Milwaukee’s second fountain is to be shipped.	National Humane Alliance; City officials	—
1905-11-30	Weather-related delay indicated	Statement that shipment will proceed when weather improves.	National Humane Alliance	—
1905-12-12	Shipment delayed	Further notice of shipment delay.	National Humane Alliance	—
1906-04-06	Fountain shipped	Confirmation that Milwaukee’s second fountain has been shipped.	National Humane Alliance; City officials	—

Notes:

The proposed South Side location (Forest Home Ave, Eighth Ave, Mitchell St triangle) is repeatedly identified as the leading candidate, driven by Ald. John Lemanski, but aldermanic rivalry suggested alternative sites might be floated before a final council decision.
Several late-1905 notices point to shipment plans followed by weather-related postponements, culminating in an April 6, 1906 shipment.
One retrieval line displayed a malformed date (“0905-12-12”); it is interpreted here as 1905-12-12 based on context.

This sequence shows how the second fountain progressed from proposal and political jockeying in August 1905 to shipment after multiple weather delays in April 1906, with the South Side triangle as the principal proposed location under the Alliance’s site suitability criteria.

Click here for the news articles that were the source of this information.

For more on the National Humane Alliance Fountains click here.

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