This is a list of drinking fountains in the United States. A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and swallows water directly from the stream.
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History
Creation of public drinking fountains was supported by the Temperance Movement, which advocated abstinence from alcohol and saw providing free fresh water as furthering its cause. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, sponsored Temperance fountains in towns and cities across the United States. Henry D. Cogswell, a dentist who made a fortune in San Francisco real estate, sponsored (and designed) dozens of artistic fountains, some of which were adorned with a statue of himself.
A concurrent movement concerned with animal welfare resulted in the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866. One of its concerns was the difficulty of finding fresh water for work horses in urban areas. Combination drinking fountains that provided a bubbler for people and a water trough for horses, and sometimes a lower basin for dogs, became popular.
Privately-sponsored drinking fountains were often commissioned as works of art. Sculptors such as Karl Bitter, Gutzon Borglum and Daniel Chester French; and architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted and Henry Hobson Richardson collaborated on them. These were frequently created as memorials to individuals, serving an ongoing utilitarian purpose as well as an artistic one.
National Humane Alliance
The National Humane Alliance donated more than 120 National Humane Alliance Fountains to communities all across the United States between 1903 and 1913. The fountains were the gift of philanthropist Herman Lee Ensign. The fountains were placed at busy intersections in cities all across the United States. The fountains were quarried on Vinalhaven which is an island off the coast from Rockland, Maine. The three level fountains had a top piece that included spigots in the shape of lions heads for humans, a larger circular bowl for horses, and lower bowls for dogs and cats. Many of the fountains are still in existence and several have been restored to their original condition, but moved to new locations as the popularity of the automobile made their original purpose and location obsolete. Derby, CT has a website (http://electronicvalley.org/derby/quiz/pages/wateringtrough.htm) dedicated to the fountains that includes an interactive map of the United States with locations and pictures.