Fountains Like Derby's Found
All Over U.S.
What
started out as an effort to learn more about a fountain given to Derby in
1906 has turned into a near obsession to identify all of the similar
fountains that were distributed. The only identifying mark on the Derby
fountain (as was the case with all of the fountains) was a simple plaque
with the year the fountain was given followed by a simple inscription:
That was just enough information to start the search to find out who
Hermon Lee Ensign was and what his Alliance was all about. You can find that
information on this page and all the linked pages that we have found or
developed. Mr. Ensign was a philanthropist and humanitarian who left a
significant amount of money to the National Humane Alliance which he founded
that was to be used to provide cities all across America (and beyond) with
fountains designed to provide water for horses to be placed in prominent
high volume traffic areas. Our early research received a major boost when
the Newberry Library in Chicago provided us with a pamphlet from the
National Humane Alliance which showed that there were nearly 100 of the
fountains distributed.
We want to thank Bill Chilles from the Vinalhaven Historical Society in Vinalhaven, Maine for the interesting photo
at the top of this page of fountains lined up at the quarry in Maine ready for delivery to various parts of the United States
and beyond. The date on the plaques on those fountains is 1907, a year after Derby had become one of the first cities across the U.S. to receive a National Humane Alliance Fountain.
We now believe that the first fountain was given to Binghamton, NY in 1902,
but that fountain was moved to Rochester in 2019. If you look carefully, you will see that they are not all identical. One fountain at the left in the photo is different in having a cylindrical upper pedestal compared to the rectangular one found on the others and in Derby. A 1910 version is pictured at the left. In an article about the fountain in Seneca, Kansas, there is a reference to a "second size" fountain, which referred to the fountains with the smaller cylindrical tops.
It appears that
Derby's fountain
and all the others were quarried on Vinalhaven which is an island off the coast from Rockland. Joseph R. Bodwell who went on to become the 40th governor of Maine opened several small quarries starting in 1852 that eventually became the Bodwell Granite Company
pictured above. We
have recently been in touch with Vinalhaven resident and descendent of the
owners of the quarries, James Dickey. He is currently manufacturing missing
pieces for the fountain in Vicksburg, Mississippi which is currently being
restored. Mr Dickey is also leading an effort to restore the quarry and turn
it into a museum focusing on the work of the quarry. Take a look
at the Bodwell Granite Company and the Vinalhaven Quarry Restoration Project
at https://www.bodwellgranite.com/
to learn more. Mr. Chilles and other members of the Vinalhaven
Historical Society have been doing research on the Granite Company and the
fountains produced there. We have been sharing our information as we
continue to expand on the history of the fountains with new ones being
reported regularly. We continue to add to the collection of pictures and
stories, but we may never get them all.
Click on icons
and links for bigger pictures and/or more information about each
of the fountains for which we have pictures. There were about 150 fountains distributed and we have pictures of
116 of them. Click here
for a table with a more complete listing
beyond those pictured below. At the top of the page you can find an
interactive Google map with all of the locations for fountains distributed
by the Alliance that includes pictures, street views and even the years when the
fountains were given.
Mobile, Alabama |
Selma, Alabama |
Hot Springs, AR. |
Texarkana, Arkansas |
Los Angeles, CA |
Napa, CA |
Oakland, CA |
Pasadena, CA |
St. Helena, CA |
San Francisco, CA |
San Jose, CA |
Colorado Springs, CO |
Denver, Colorado |
Grand Junction, Co. |
Derby, CT |
Wilmington, Delaware |
Pensacola, FL |
St. Augustine, Florida |
Augusta, GA |
Cedar Rapids, IA |
Council Bluffs, IA |
Davenport, IA |
Des Moines, IA |
Des Moines, IA |
Mason City, IA |
Ottumwa, IA |
Sioux City, IA |
Caldwell, ID |
Chicago, IL |
Geneseo, IL |
Moline, IL |
Ottowa, IL |
Princeton, IL |
Rock Island, IL |
Sheffield, IL |
Evansville, IN |
Indianapolis, IN |
Muncie, IN |
South Bend, IN |
Kansas City, KS |
Lawrence, KS |
Seneca, KS |
Topeka, KS |
Wichita, KS |
Mayfield, KY |
Paducah, Kentucky |
New Orleans, LA |
Springfield, MA. |
Westfield, MA |
Houlton, ME |
North Haven, Maine (!) |
Baltimore, MD |
Portland, Me |
Vinalhaven, ME |
Vinalhaven, Me |
Waterville, Maine |
Jackson, MI |
Austin, MN |
Clinton, MO |
Kansas City, MO |
Maryville, MO |
St. Joseph, MO |
Vicksburg, MS |
Butte, MT |
Lincoln, NE |
Omaha, NE |
Carson City, Nevada |
Claremont, NH |
Newark, NJ |
Albuquerque, NM |
Albany, NY |
Auburn, NY |
Binghamton, NY |
Buffalo, NY |
Middletown, NY |
Rochester, NY |
Troy, NY |
Charlotte, NC |
Raleigh, NC |
Grand Forks, ND |
Minot, ND |
Cincinnati, OH |
Cleveland, OH |
Marietta, OH |
Chickasha, OK |
Enid, OK |
Shawnee, OK |
Portland, OR |
Allegheny (Now Pittsburgh?), PA |
Carbondale, PA |
Harrisburg, PA |
Newport, RI |
Abbeville,SC |
Camden, SC |
Columbia, SC |
Georgetown, SC |
Laurens, SC |
Rapid City, SD |
Sioux Falls, SD |
Bristol, TN |
Clarksville, TN |
Nashville, TN |
Dallas, TX |
Denton, TX |
ElPaso, TX |
Fort Worth, TX |
Georgetown,
TX |
Waco, TX |
Salt Lake City, UT |
Norfolk, VA |
Richmond, VA |
Roanoke, VA |
Barre, VT |
Bennington,VT |
Burlington, VT |
Spokane, WA |
Milwaukee, WI |
Milwaukee, WI |
Cheyenne, Wyoming |
Havana, Cuba |
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