Hebe -- Court Square Fountain, Montgomery AL - Epic Beings and Creatures on Waymarking.com

Hebe brings water to the thirsty residents of Montgomery atop an artesian well.

From a sign of history in the Montgomery Visitor Center:

""HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
Downtown Montgomery evolved from a merger of two towns founded by Andrew Dexter, a Massachusetts lawyer who moved south after the War of 1812, and general John Scott, who founded the Alabama Company. Dexter named his town New Philadelphia while Scott called his town Alabama Town. Scott could not attract merchants or settlers and was forced to begin a new town. This one he called East Alabama town, which met with success. The two founding fathers realized that competition was useless and combined their towns as Montgomery. December 3, 1819 the Alabama territorial legislature recognized the city of Montgomery; 11 days prior Alabama was accepted as the 22nd state.

Early on the citizens of Montgomery realized town central location could market for prominence in the state. Andrew Dexter deeded land at the eastern end of market Street to be given to the state when it made Montgomery its capitol city, and in 1846 the seat of the state’s government was moved from Tuscaloosa to the hill where goats grazed in Montgomery.
The town grew rapidly and by the 1850s, downtown had become a place of lavish houses and beautiful public buildings. Visitors can still see many of these by simply driving through downtown. One need only walk around downtown Montgomery to discover it. One need only walk around downtown Montgomery to discover a myriad of interesting nooks full of history and attractions that will delight visitors. A seat on the trolley system will give an authentic feel to such a historical tour.

Court Square
Court Square is the site of an artesian well called “Big Basin.” It was here that slave auctions were held. Montgomery gained a new symbol for the city in 1885 when an ornate fountain capped Big Basin. Atop the fountain stands a statue of Hebe, the Greek goddess of use and cupbearer to the gods. She is position to welcome visitors as they arrived from the train station. It was a common sight to see the wide streets choked with wagons loaded with cotton bales on market day. Even into the twentieth century cotton played an important role in Montgomery’s economy. It was from the winter building, still standing on court square, that the telegraph demanding the evacuation of Fort Sumter was sent. This telegraph would begin the bloodiest American war with the bloodless battle.

Monroe Street
Monroe Street was the home of the Montgomery theater. This theater first opened in 1860. John Wilkes Booth acted in several Shakespearean plays a week after it opened. During the secession fervor, a little-known song, “Dixie’s Land”, was transcribed for the Montgomery Brass Band. It was played in honor of Jefferson Davis’s inauguration. The theater closed in 1907, and the building has been used as department stores cents. The upstairs is vacant and still holds reminders of its grander past.

Dexter Street
Dexter Avenue is perhaps Montgomery’s most famous Street. It was here that settlers of New Philadelphia first resided. After the merger of the 2 rival towns, Dexter Avenue was the city’s center of retail. When the capitol was built in 1846 at the end of the street, the famous view up Dexter Avenue was completed. Hotels lined the street and markets were held along it. Near the capitol, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church is located. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. preached."

Time Period: Ancient Approximate Date of Epic Period: 600 BC Epic Type: Mythical Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art

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Date Logged Log   07/26/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it