Derby History Quiz

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A Watering Trough For Horses

Fountain has a new life and a new home!

Latest Update We want to thank Bill Chilles from the Vinalhaven Historical Society in Vinalhaven, Maine for this interesting photo of fountains lined up in Maine ready for delivery to various parts of the United States. The date on the plaques is 1907, a year after Derby had become one of the first cities across the U.S. to receive a National Humane Alliance Fountain. 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. It appears that Derby's fountain was likely 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.  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 such as these (click on icons for larger pictures): Houlton, ME Marietta, GA Shawnee, OK Claksville, TN

The watering trough pictured above was presented to the city in 1906 by a group called the National Humane Alliance. It was once located at the junction of Seymour Avenue and Atwater Avenue, but was moved to Founders Common on the other side of town when Rt. 8 was being built.

The fountain arrived here from Rockland, Maine in the middle of May, and Seccombe Brothers of Ansonia set it up on a foundation built by James Carroll of Derby with the plumbing work being done by E. W. Peck & Co. The imposing structure is made of granite and weights five tons. The large bowl is six foot across and the fountain is over six feet tall. At the base, there are are four small water bowls for dogs, cats and other animals. The pillar above the bowl had spigots resembling lions heads on three sides and and a plaque on the fourth. The water was turned on by Mayor Hubbell on Friday, June 1, 1906. According to a report published in The Evening Sentinel the next day, a horse owned by R. F. Cuddihy of Derby was the first to take a drink from the trough while Frank Ford's dog "Ponto" was the first to drink from the lower level of the fountain. There had been an old and rather unsightly iron trough on the spot for years, and reports indicate that the neighbors were quite pleased with the new design.

The watering trough is not as ornate as it once was as the lions head spigots which were once found on three sides have long since vanished. (Click here to see the new spigots which have just been delivered to the City.) A simple plaque on the fourth side of the fountain states simply, "1906 Presented by the National Humane Alliance - Hermon Lee Ensign Founder." Mr. Ensign left his fortune to the Humane Alliance, which he founded to carry out his ideas for welfare of animals. His childhood love of animals grew and became the dominating interest of his life. He acquired his fortune through twenty years in the advertising business. He created a new form of newspaper advertising -- headline reading advertisement. He also invented the stereotype plate with removable base.

Derby was not the only city to have such a watering trough as the National Humane Alliance placed identical troughs in cities such as Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Paducah, Kentucky, Shawnee, Oklahoma; Carson City, Nevada; Abbeville, South Carolina; Austin, Minnesota; Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Vermont; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Clinton, Missouri; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Rapid City, South Dakota; San Diego, California, Carson City Nevada and Ottumwa, Iowa. Most of them have the date of 1906 or 1907 on them, but others show 1911 as their date. In total, we have discovered that there were at least 70 fountains distributed across the U.S. and one in Mexico.

Paducah, Kentucky
Denver, Colorado	Clinton, Missouri
Ottumwa, Iowa

Correct answers were received from: Kristen Jecusco-Casteel, Robert Hyder, Ann Searles, Jim Bartlett, Joan Driscoll, Gary Lungarini, Virginia Ljungquist, Ken Dupke, Frank Lazowski, Sr, Kathi Ducharme, Mary Lou Boroski, Marsha Pettingill, Markanthony Izzo, Henry Wajdowicz, Millie from Ansonia, Frank ?, John M. Rak, Jane Papale, and Randy Ritter.

To see our other earlier quizzes and learn more about Derby's unique history, click here.

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