The David Stroup Fountain In Bloomsburg Pa
In 1884, local candy merchant David Stroup died, leaving his money to the local water works. The company informed the Bloomsburg Town Council that should they choose to spend the $2000 of Mr. Stroups bequest on a fountain, it would provide the water free of charge.
The 17 foot 9 inch Victorian Fountain was ordered from a JL Mott Iron Works catalog in 1892, at a cost of $1,575
A 1905 Postcard Of the Fountain, Mailed in 1907
The Mercury (Pottstown PA) - April 1937
Mailed in the 1940s
In September of 1962, pranksters poured bubbles into the fountain.
That happened again in 2013
In 1966 the fountain was moved to storage in a transportation museum, and a concrete fountain took its place, for nearly 20 years.
Another view of the concrete fountain that replaced the iron fountain for about 20 years between the mid 1960's and mid 1980s.
The only photo I could find of the cherubim that replaced the stork in the 80s.
In 2000, the fountain was restored, with a new 26 foot in diameter ground pond being cast, and several deteriorated pieces were replaced. A new stork was made, replacing the cherub that topped the fountain after the first stork went missing.
There's a smaller version of this exact statue on the campus of Bloomsburg University
The original fountain at the university was a gift from the class of 1904, and it originally stood in front of Carver Hall. The fountain slowly deteriorated, and the class of 1940 replaced it with a new fountain that mimicked the original. At some point, that fountain was stored inside Carver Hall, to make room for more parking.
In 2007, the quad was completed, as part of a plan to add more green space to the campus. The fountain was placed as the centerpiece of the quad.
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https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/04/sights-to-see.html
Heather, this is a fantastic article about our Town fountain! I’d like permission to repost it to my page @TheBeautyofBloomsburg please let me know when you see this. Thanks! Some of these photos I literally have never seen before and people here would greatly appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to councilmen Bill Brobst and Jay Fritz for having a vision to restore the fountain back to its original grandeur in 2000s. Thanks to the Town for maintaining the fountain today as we love and photograph many events at this prominent location in our town.
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