Dunsmuir Fountain - Dunsmuir, California
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 41° 13.483 W 122° 16.612
10T E 560609 N 4563955
The 1888 Dunsmuir Fountain was moved in the early 1970’s to this new location in Dunsmuir, California.
Waymark Code: WMFRK7
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2012
Views: 2
In August 1886, the Southern Pacific Railroad established a station which was named for the wealthy Dunsmuir family who owned the Wellington Collieries in British Columbia. In January 1887, the station was move north about a mile the settlement of Pusher where an engine house and turntable were under construction. The name Pusher was dropped in favor of Dunsmuir. In June 1888, Robert or Alexander Dunsmuir [stories differ (
visit link) ]came through Dunsmuir and promised to provide the town with a fountain. In October 1888, a multi-tiered iron fountain arrived and was installed in a small park near the railroad station [1920‘s photo: (
visit link) ]. On the fountain there is a small plaque: “Presented by Alexander Dunsmuir, of the Wellington Collieries, British Columbia”.
The fountain became a big hit with travelers & tourists, as trains stopped in Dunsmuir letting passengers off to enjoy a visit. In the early 1970’s, with the reduction in rail travel visitation to the fountain was also reduced so the fountain moved about a mile to the current location at the entrance to the Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens.