Lincoln Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Fountain Girl

George E. Wade, sculptor

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 6, 2024

1. Fountain Girl Marker

Inscription. First exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the original version of this sculptural fountain was named in honor of suffragist and temperance reformer, Frances Willard. Several copies were made and installed in various cities by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The original fountain was installed in Lincoln Park in 1921; however, its bronze sculpture was stolen in 1958. In 2010, the sculpture was replicated using molds cast from an identical sculpture, "Little Water Girl" in Portland, Maine.

Rededicated in memory of Jeannette Peterkin Hunt, 2011
Made possible by a generous gift from her family

Erected 2011 by Chicago Park District.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Parks & Recreational Areas • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1893.

Location. 41° 54.73′ N, 87° 37.765′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lincoln Park. It can be reached from West La Salle Drive. The marker is attached to the Fountain Girl statue, which is about 200 feet north of North Avenue, about 500 feet east of the Chicago

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History Museum's rear entrance, and a short distance south of a tunnel under LaSalle Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60614, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Abraham Lincoln Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Chicago is Community (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Catholic Cemetery (about 300 feet away); Chicago is Natural (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Chicago is Community (about 400 feet away); Chicago is Connected (about 500 feet away); Chicago is Complex (about 500 feet away); The Richard M. and Shirley H. Jaffee History Trail (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker.

Fountain Girl image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 6, 2024

2. Fountain Girl

The sculpture is in front of the La Salle Drive underpass.

The fountain—known at times as the Frances Willard Fountain or Little Cold Water Girl—was built for the 1893 Columbian Exposition thanks to donations of pennies and nickels by schoolchildren. After the fair, the sculpture was moved to downtown Chicago in front of the Women's Hall at LaSalle and Monroe in downtown Chicago, and dedicated in honor of Frances Willard, the women's suffragist and temperance leader. After that building was torn down, the sculpture was was re-erected in Lincoln Park, near the intersection of Lake Shore Drive and North Avenue, about ¼-mile east of here. When Lake Shore Drive was reconstructed in 1940, the sculpture was moved to its present location near the tunnel under LaSalle Drive. The bronze figure was stolen in the late 1950s, and its base sat unadorned in the same spot for the next 50+ years. In 2007, the Park District and a local philanthropist worked with Portland, Maine, to make a mold of a copy of the statue (which is called "Little Water Girl") that had stood in that city for more than 100 years. Chicago's new statue was rededicated on the original granite base in 2012.

Regarding Fountain Girl. Fountain

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 6, 2024

3. Fountain Girl

The sculpture's plaque is partially seen at the bottom.

Girl is an example of the many "temperance fountains" that women's temperance unions in many cities added during the late 19th century and early 20th century as a way to promote clean drinking water as an alternative to alcoholic beverages. According to the Chicago Park District, while the original fountain was designed for people to get drinking water from, the current version does not have potable water.

This particular Fountain Girl statue had a few replicas erected elsewhere; in addition to the one in Portland, one was erected in Detroit, and another was dedicated in London, where it was called "Cold Water Girl" and dedicated in honor of British temperance leader Lady Henry Somerset. In a similar story to the Chicago statue, the London version (in Victoria Embankment Gardens) was stolen in 1971 and then remade using the Maine statue as its guide.

Frances Willard, the educator, women's suffragist and temperance reformer, spent her teen and college years in north suburban Evanston (where she attended North Western Female College) and was a figure in Chicago's social scene in the 1860s as she emerged as one of the nation's leading

Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 6, 2024

4. Fountain Girl

The Chicago History Museum is visible in the background.

figures on both women's suffrage and Christian temperance. In 1879, she became president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and was in that role when she attended and spoke at the re-dedication of this statue in downtown Chicago in 1895. Willard died at age 58 in 1898, and is buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. Willard is honored with one of Illinois' two statues in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol; added in 1905, it was the first in the hall that depicted a woman.

George Wade was a British sculptor best known for statues of British royalty and politicians, including statues of Edward VII (in Reading); former statues of Edward VII, Queen Alexandra and Mary of Teck, Princess of Wales that stood in Hong Kong; statues of Canada's first prime minister, John Macdonald, which stand in Montreal and Hamilton, Ontario; and a statue to Field Marshal Douglas Haig that is at Edinburgh Castle.

Also see . . .
1. Chicago Park District: Fountain Girl.

Excerpt: "In 2007, Lincoln Park resident and philanthropist Jeanette Van Nice began talking with representatives of the Chicago Park District and Lincoln Park Conservancy about
Photographed by Sean Flynn, March 6, 2024

5. Fountain Girl
providing funds to reproduce the missing sculpture. In addition to her generous donation, the State of Illinois, Chicago Park District, and Lincoln Park Conservancy contributed to the project. The Park District established a close working relationship with the City of Portland, Maine to allow for the reproduction of their sculpture. Conservator Andrzej Dajnowski made a mold of the Portland figure and oversaw its recasting in bronze. He installed the new sculpture on the original granite base in Lincoln Park in 2012. Landscape improvements include a plaza around the monument. Today, water drips from the cup of the bronze girl; however, it is no longer potable."

(Submitted on March 6, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. White Ribbon Association (UK): Temperance Fountains. The White Ribbon Association dedicated the Fountain Girl replica in London. (Submitted on March 6, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1907

6. Fountain Girl

After the Columbian Exposition, the Fountain Girl was placed at Monroe and La Salle in front of the Women's Hall, and dedicated to Frances Willard, the women's suffragist and temperance movement leader. After the Women's Hall was razed, the statue was re-placed in Lincoln Park.

Frances E. Willard (1839-1898) image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress

7. Frances E. Willard (1839-1898)

Frances Willard, the educator, women's suffragist and temperance movement leader, is one of two people honored by the state of Illinois in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

George Edward Wade, sculptor (1853-1933) image. Click for full size.

Photo by Gray and Davies, courtesy of National Archives of Canada, circa 1892

8. George Edward Wade, sculptor (1853-1933)

The photo shows Wade working on a statue of John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 6, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 790 times since then and 140 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 6, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 7. submitted on July 29, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 8. submitted on June 24, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.