{"nrhp_refnum":"78002400","name":"Memorial Fountain and Statue","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Memorial Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chambersburg","county":"Franklin County","state":"PA","lat":39.93755852000004,"lon":-77.66165267999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A cast-iron ornamental fountain with a standing soldier statue in Memorial Square, at the intersection of Main Street (U.S. Route 11) and Lincoln Way (U.S. Route 30) in the center of Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The fountain was installed in 1878.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the fountain and statue are excellent examples of late nineteenth-century ornamental cast-iron work and a prominent focal point of the central business district streetscape. They were erected to honor local soldiers who died in the Civil War, in a town that was invaded three times and partly burned during the war.","narrative":"Memorial Fountain and Statue stand in the middle of Memorial Square in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where Main Street meets Lincoln Way. Installed in 1878, the fountain is cast iron, about 26 feet tall, with five petal-shaped tiers rising from a ground basin about 30 feet across. Dolphins, swans, cherubs and lion heads decorate the shaft, and a soldier statue about 6 feet high, rifle grounded, stands nearby. The memorial honors local soldiers who died in the Civil War. A women's group and veterans' association raised the money through festivals and concerts, and the town was dedicated in July 1878. The fountain bears the label of J.W. Fiske of New York, and a York foundry is credited with assembling or casting it. Chambersburg had been invaded three times and its center burned in 1864, which helps explain the prominent placement. The fountain has long anchored the town's central business streetscape.","period_of_significance":"1878","architect_builder":"J.W. Fiske","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The fountain's water system is not turned on very often; the lion heads were removed in the late 1960s after a shaft repair, and a statue arm was broken off in recent months.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.464373-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002400.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002400/a0b0bb7980-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002400/a0b0bb7980-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pub. by Chambersburg News Agency, Chambersburg, PA. \"Tichnor Quality Views,\" Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Court_house_and_fountain,_Memorial_Square,_Chambersburg,_Pa_(79759).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pub. by Chambersburg News Agency, Chambersburg, PA. &quot;Tichnor Quality Views,&quot; Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Court_house_and_fountain,_Memorial_Square,_Chambersburg,_Pa_(79759).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"82003789","name":"Chambersburg Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/chambersburg-historic-district-82003789/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994987","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Fountain_and_Statue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6815407"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/franklin-county/memorial-fountain-and-statue-78002400/"}