On Wednesday, hosted the White Memorial Fountain Bash.
According to a write-up on the ’s website, on an afternoon in 1892, the friends and neighbors of Dr. Roderick White came together to dedicate the fountain.
The spot in Weatogue for the fountain was selected because the area was home to the district school (on a piece of land given to the town by the Pettibone family) and the proximity to the school meant that students would have safe drinking water from the fountain.
The fountain had a trustee and with age came the decision to turn the care of the fountain over to the Simsbury Historical Society. The fountain is one of 15 structures maintained by the historical society.
For several years it sat dormant and became overgrown with grass and weeds, as money is tight for the historical society. As president of the Simsbury Cemetery Association, Jackson Eno brought the idea of fixing up the fountain to the group. In 2010, the association offered the historical society to take care of the fountain for $1 per year. The historical society accepted.
The cemetery association is seeking to create a self-supporting fund for the fountain's care and the fundraiser was hopefully the beginning of an annual tradition.
The bash was hosted in partnership with Simsbury Cemetery Association, Simsbury Historical Society, and Simsbury Main Street Partnership Inc.
