William Procter Fountain All text used by permission of:     memorialdrinkingfountains.wordpress.com Location: Glendale, Ohio, USA

In 1894 a cast iron drinking fountain was donated to the village of Glendale, north of Cincinnati, by William A. Procter who, with his brother-in-law, founded the Procter and Gamble Company. Originally installed directly across from the Town Hall, it currently resides in Rogan Park at the corner of Greenville Avenue and Village Square.

The 24 feet high drinking fountain for man and beast was identified as #3 in Henry F. Jenks’ foundry catalog. It consisted of a solid base with an annular channel for use as a dog trough.

The 4ft high fluted pedestal with attic base hosted arched panels for bas-relief enrichment or dedication. A step to assist children was attached in front of the dedication plaque; Presented by Wm. A. Procter 1894. A movable panel in one side offered access to plumbing.

A horse trough, 56 inches in diameter, in the form of a basin (at 4 feet 3 inches above ground level it was a comfortable height for horses to drink with ease) had the capacity to hold a barrel of water (42 gallons). The center of the basin contained a jamb from which dolphin mascarons spouted water captured with tin drinking cups suspended on chains. Waste water was directed to the dog trough at street level to prevent contagious distemper.

The fountain was provided with self-closing faucets and the pipes within were constructed to resist freezing in cold temperatures. Fountains were supplied both with and without an ice box attachment as desired. (An ice box was placed near the sidewalk underground, which was provided with coils of tin lined pipe on which ice was placed to cool the water flowing through the coils to the outlet of the fountain.)

The highly decorated finial with floriated relief extended into a lamp pillar originally terminated with a gas lantern.

The fountain was restored in 2001 by the McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory, Inc. of Oberlin, Ohio.

A patent was applied for this design in 1880 by H. F. Jenks with the following description.

The design contemplates supplying water for man and beast; and to this end, as a feature of utility, I provide a capacious basin for animals to drink from, and a trickling stream, from which, in a cup, a portion may be caught for human use. An annular channel in the base permits dogs and birds to drink from.

The characteristic feature in the appearance of this design is a cylindrical pedestal mounted upon a suitable base, and supporting a circular bowl, nearly hemispherical in configuration, from the center of which springs a vertical tapering stem, bearing near its base two or more dolphins or mythical aquatic creatures, represented with streams of water issuing from their mouths and falling into the bowl. This bowl is so formed and located upon the pedestal that when approached by a team the pole will pass beneath the bottom of the said bowl, so as to allow the horses on both sides of the pole to drink at the same time without any loss of time or necessity for unhitching or driving up one side at a time, as usual, to water.

The stem may be continued upwardly, ornamented, as shown, with leaves, flutes, etc., and may support a lamp or lantern, if desired, in any suitable form, or basket for plants.

In the base and surrounding the pedestal is an upturned flange, enclosing a depressed annular for water; but this feature, though ornamental and useful, is not essential to my design.

The stem and pedestal may be plain or ornamented with vines and panels, without materially affecting the general aspect of the design.  

Having thus described my drinking-fountain, I claim the design for a drinking-fountain herein described and shown, consisting of the cylindrical pedestal a bowl, tapering stem and aquatic figures formed thereon, all having the form of a configuration substantially as herein set forth.

Glossary:

• Annular; circular, ring shaped
• Attic base, a column base with two rings
• Bas-relief, sculpted material that has been raised from the background to create a slight projection from the surface
• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Fluted Shaft, a long, rounded groove decorating the shaft of a column
• Fret, running or repeated ornament
• Jamb, a projecting vertical post containing sculpture
• Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.