Old Town Pump Memorial
From Salem Links and Lore
The Old Town Pump Memorial was unveiled on July 1, 1976 and sits in the middle of Townhouse Square, at the intersection of Essex and Washington Streets. The fountain with bronze sculptures on the side depicts Nathaniel Hawthorne at the pump, along with an inscription taken from his short story "A Rill from the Town Pump." Salem's old town pump figures prominently in the story. The design was coordinated by Salem's Bicentennial Committee and cost $17,000. The base is a stone formation. It sits on the site of the original Salem Spring.
The city is planning a redesign of the walking mall and the Old Town Pump Memorial will be "restored" in the summer of 2014.
See Also
- Vertical File in Salem Collection - Fountains--Essex St.
- Old Town Pump Fountain Smithsonian Institute Website
- "Hawthorne sculpture stirs fountain flak" Salem Evening News, July 2, 1976, p.10
- Salem: Place, Myth and Memory edited by Dane A. Morrison, p. 179.
- "More than three coins in this fountain" Salem Evening News, May 6, 1993, p.1
