‘Mable at the Fountain’ was notable Uniontown landmark
One of the most frequently asked questions about bygone Uniontown concerns the subject of the fountain once located at the three-way intersection of Church, South and Morgantown streets. “Mable at the Fountain,” was the name of the benevolent Grecian-style maiden who stood atop a stone-and-brick pedestal, as water gushed below her from four horseheads for all to partake. Water for horses fell into high bowls; a lower level watered ponies, while dogs could drink from the lowest level. A dozen tin cups held fast by chains hung ready for use by the general public – never mind the germs.
Altogether, the fountain and pedestal stood at over 14 feet – an impressive enough sight in the growing town and imposing enough to dominate the view of an intersection that remains little changed today. Mable was presented to Uniontown on July 4, 1896, during the centennial celebration of incorporation as a borough. (Uniontown did not officially become a city until 1913). In fact, the celebration began at 9 a.m. that morning with the official dedication of Mable by a contingent representing the area’s YMCA and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
After a short musical performance by a popular local group, Rutter’s Band, came a number of dedication speeches and the unveiling. According to The News Standard’s report of the scene, “little Maggie Ritenour turned on the water. The children’s chorus then sang “Cold Water.” This song was followed by the doxology, and this ended the initiatory exercises of the day.”
The article concludes without much of a description of the landmark: “We would like to describe this fountain and the motive which prompted its erection, but space does not permit…Its weight is 3,600 pounds and its height 14 feet.”
J.V. Thompson, the great banker and broker of coal lands, accepted the fountain on behalf of the borough. Few people in recounting J.V.’s career recall that he served as president of borough council in 1896, in addition to his leading role in banking and finance. Thompson was, appropriately enough in accepting the temperance fountain, something of a moral crusader himself. Employees of his First National Bank were not supposed to use tobacco or to drink alcohol (although these strictures did not apply to directors). Tee-totaling Thompson drawing off the first cup of water from the fountain is said to have remarked, “Nothing stronger has ever passed my lips. Not even coffee.”
As is often the result of moral crusades, an unexpected side effect outweighed the benefits of the public proffering of drinking water that the temperance group has hoped would curtail the drinking of alcoholic beverages. Water from the fountain overflowed into the street, causing hazardous ice in the wintertime, resulting in auto accidents.
Mable was removed from her pedestal in 1919 and came to grace a public park in nearby Confluence, Somerset County, until the early 1940s, when she sadly became an early casualty of World War II-melted down in a scrap- metal drive.
–
Franklin LaCava is author of “Bake Slow and Sure: Heirloom Recipes of the National Road Era.”