Ingersoll Fountain remains a showpiece at Mount Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Ingersoll Memorial Fountain is still going strong in Mount Albion 99 years after it was dedicated in the historic cemetery. The sandstone chapel is in the background.

ALBION – I’m glad they didn’t do it on the cheap nearly 100 years ago. The Ingersoll Memorial Fountain in Mount Albion is the Cadillac of fountains.

It has endured for nearly a century. It’s visible from Route 31 and is one of the three most iconic structures in the cemetery, with the front sandstone arch and the Civil War Memorial – Mount Albion Tower – also enduring landmarks.

I don’t know the full story behind the Ingersoll family. Nehemiah Ingersoll was an early prominent resident in Albion. There were only a few settlers in 1812, but when it was announced the canal would pass through here, entrepreneurs started to buy up land.

Photo by Tom Rivers

Ingersoll purchased much of the land near the planned intersection of the canal and Oak Orchard Road, the main north-south route through the area in 1822, according to a Wikipedia entry about Albion. Ingersoll’s land was soon subdivided, and the village, then known as Newport, began to grow.

I’d like to see Albion put up another fountain, and not just the cheapest one on the market. An Ingersoll-type fountain on the bank of the canal would be an attraction and would give our canal bank and downtown a big lift, while also drawing some customers for the downtown businesses.

I think the fountain should be built in honor of the 15 people who died in a Sept. 28, 1859 bridge collapse. I wrote about that part of our history about a week ago. You can read about it by clicking here.

Those 15 people died while watching a wire walker. I think Nik Wallenda could be talked into doing an event in Albion, to help the community dedicate a fountain in their memory.