Kirkpatrick Monument (Lemoyne Fountain) - Syracuse, NY - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

The monument is located in Washington Square Park in what used to be known as the Village of Salina, NY, now part of the City of Syracuse.

It was cast in 1908 by the Gorham Foundry of Providence, RI. It consists of a bronze drum on a granite pedestal. It was designed by husband and wife team of Harvey Wiley Corbett (1871-1954) and Gail Sherman Corbett (1872-1951).

It consists of extreme high relief figures depicting the events of 16 August, 1654, when the local Onondaga introduced Jesuit Missionary Simon Lemoyne to the local salt springs. The relief depicts LeMoyne, his companion Jean Baptiste, the Iroquois leader Garakontie, and an unnamed Onondaga man and woman. The salt spring led to the rise of the local salt industry and the establishment of Salina, and ultimately Syracuse.

The original dedication did not involve local Onondaga leaders; however, the restoration and re-dedication in 2009 featured local indigenous leaders prominently.

The monument was originally intended as a human and horse drinking fountain, but the water was not included in the 2009 restoration.

The lengthy inscription on the monument reads:

"Doctor William Kirkpatrick was Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs during the years 1805-6 and from 1810 to 1831. This fountain has been erected in accordance with the last will and testament of his son William Kirkpatrick dated Oct-11-1889: I direct that my executors shall erect or cause to be erected in Washington Park in the First Ward (where I was born) of the City of Syracuse a memorial fountain the general design of such fountain to represent or symbolize the Onondaga Indians discovering to the white men the salt springs as related in the historical narrative of the relations of the Jesuits and later by the historian Parkman – I do this to perpetuate the memory of my father the late Doctor William Kirkpatrick and his long relations with the early history of the Onondaga Salt Springs.

The Jesuite missionary Père Simon Le Moine under date of Aug-16-1654 narrates as follows: We arrive at the head of a small lake in a great basin half dried up. We taste the water of a spring which the natives dare not drink saying that there is within it a demon which renders it foul. Having tasted of it I found that it was a fountain of salt water and in fact we made some salt from it as natural as sea salt a sample of which we are carrying to Quebeck."

It is listed as part of the Smithsonian Institution Collection IAS NY001243.

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Washington Square

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/01/2018 The Burrow visited it