The National Humane Alliance Fountain

The National Humane Alliance Fountain. . , In 1897, Hermon Lee Ensign, a wealthy advertising executive with a great love of animals, incorporated the National Humane Alliance. He published a series of illustrated stories focused on educating people to be gentle and considerate of animals and of each other. At the time of his death in 1899, he had made provisions to leave most of his considerable fortune to the Alliance. Between 1906 and 1912, the Alliance honored his memory by placing an estimated 125 animal fountains on city streets. The solid granite fountains were cut and polished by the Bodwell Granite Company in Maine and weighed an estimated 6 tons. The fountains featured lion head spouts on three sides and a dedication plaque on the fourth. The large bowl provided water for horses, while smaller animals, such as dogs and cats, drank from the ground level bowls. , Around 1909, Hot Springs received one of these fountains and placed it at the intersection of what was then Malvern Avenue and Valley Street. The fountain served travelers and their faithful companions until the 1920's. With automotive transportation growing, Judge David Whittington arranged for the fountain to be moved to Sleepy Valley Springs. In the late 1970's, the fountain was acquired by Thomas E. and Ida Lee Reed, staying in their family for decades. In 2014, their grandson Greg Reed contacted City Manager David Watkins to see if there was interest in reclaiming it. Parks and Trails Director Jean Wallace, discovering that the fountain was well preserved, proposed it be incorporated into a new city plaza being constructed near the original site. Today, the history of the fountain and the philanthropy of Mr. Ensign live on in Hot Springs, Arkansas.