"Music of the Sea" Fountain -- Port Arthur TX
N 29° 52.754 W 093° 55.628
15R E 410470 N 3305764
A fountain commemorating the life of Port Arthur's second mayor, Charles Smith, was installed in front of the Jefferson County Sub-Courthouse in 1940, and moved to the pedestrian mall at Lamar State College in 2005.
Waymark Code: WMG5HY
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2013
Views: 6
Source: City Council action and supporting documents approving relocation on 27 Jan 2005: (visit link)
Edith Smith erected this memorial fountain to her father Charles, who served as the second Mayor of Port Arthur from 1899-1901. The fountain was installed in front of the Jefferson County sub-courthouse in downtown Port Arthur in 1940. In 1962 she left additional money to the City in her will to help with the fountain's maintenance and repair costs.
By 2005 the fountain was in the way of a new Hurricane Protection infrastructure project. The city deeded the statue to Lamar State College, which had asked for the statue. The college wanted to move it to the campus as part of a new historic plaza in a planned pedestrian mall.
The 2005 agreement between the city and the college stipulated that the statue would be moved and reconstructed at no expense to the city, preserving an important part of Port Arthur's community history while keeping a promise made 70 years before that the memorial would be cared for in perpetuity.
This statue is a worthy and historic addition to the beautiful plaza project that celebrates the intertwined history of Port Arthur and Lamar State College. It also reflects the reality that the Texas State College System has a whole lot more money available than does the city of Port Arthur, especially after Hurricanes Rita and Ike.
From The Portal to Texas History: (visit link)
"(A Historic Photograph) of the Music of the Sea Memorial Fountain at Jefferson County Sub-Courthouse. A human figure leaning over and holding a shell to its ear is in the center of the fountain. Jets of water are spraying towards it. It was presented to the city in 1940 by Edith Smith Norton (Mrs. Charles R.) in memory of her father, Charles Eugene Smith. It was created by artist, Henry Hudson Kitson." [end]
More proof that this structure is relocated comes from the Smithsonian sculpture database, which lists the sculpture at the sub-courthouse. (
visit link)