A Look Back at Ocean City
By Fred Miller
“W.C.T.U. PRESENTS CITY WITH HANDSOME FOUNTAIN; Mayor Champion Accepts Gift from Mrs. S.S. Warren” was the headline in the June 15, 1915 Ocean City Sentinel. The article began, “Memorial Day of this year was a memorable occasion for the members of the Ocean City Women’s Christian Temperance Union, marking, as it did, the presentation of the union’s pretty granite drinking fountain to the city.”
The article continued, “The fountain, which is in front of the city hall, cost about $400.
“Shortly before 4 o’clock, a number of the members of the union, Mayor Joseph G. Champion and the Rev. James E. Lake assembled on the steps of the building. Mrs. Spencer B. Swan, president of the local union, introduced Mr. Lake and announced that he would offer prayer. Mr. Lake suggested that they first sing ‘My Country, Tis of Thee.’
“Mrs. Warren, who presented the fountain to the city, said that they had met today to celebrate the dedication of this fountain, which the union started to work for eight years ago.”
Mayor Joseph G. Champion accepted the fountain saying, “It gave him great pleasure to accept this magnificent gift on behalf of the city. The community is to be congratulated on having such women as comprise the Ocean City W.C.T.U., who not only think of the needs of the public but also animals.”
The newspaper article reported, “Mr. Champion expressed the hope that the fountain will remain for years as a monument to the W.C.T.U., and he assured the members that the City Commissioners will take the best of care of the gift.”
The article continued: “Mrs.Della B. Smith, of this city, president of the Cape May County W.C.T.U., said this is one of the golden days in the lives of the members of the Ocean City W.T.C.U. This monument will be here long after those who planned it have passed away, but the speaker said she wanted to build her monument in the heart of every child and then it will live for eternity.”
Mrs. Isabella Demarest, corresponding secretary of the New Jersey W.C.T.U. was the last to speak. She began by speaking of the significance of Memorial Day as a day of gratitude for those who gave up their lives that the country might be saved, and ended speaking of women’s rights and the evil of alcohol and the growth of the temperance movement.
The dedication ceremony ended with the singing of the “White Ribbon Song.”
This memorable occasion in Ocean City’s history was in the making for many years. In 1912, the local chapter of the W.C.T.U. to celebrate their 25th anniversary, agreed to raise money for a large granite fountain. By then, the National Women’s Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, had presented hundreds of fountains to communities all across America. The fountains were to encourage people to drink safe, free water and not to drink alcohol.
The first W.C.T.U. fountain in Ocean City was dedicated on July 20, 1889 by Mrs. Sarah J.C. Downs, president of the W.C.T.U. of New Jersey. It was a large barrel sitting on a covered platform on the Camp Meeting Grounds between 5th and 6th streets.
It was in 1912 the W.C.T.U. presented the fountain to Mayor Harry Headley. He said he would accept the gift when City Hall was completed. City Hall opened on January 1, 1915, but a few months later, Headley was voted out of office and Joseph G. Champion was elected mayor.
The fountain was rededicated on May 25, 2015 by Ocean City Historical Museum president Richard Stanislaw, historian Fred Miller, and member of W.T.C.U. Eileen Steelman.
