fashionable squares. The Committee report states: “[the fountain drawing] has been much admired by our citizens and has met with such general approval and is so suitable for our square that the committee unhesitatingly recommends its adoption in case a fountain is placed therein.” In the spring and early summer of 1870, The Easton Express and Centennial newspapers announced that the town council had decided in favor of having a fountain placed in the newly vacant town square. The huge iron fountain featured 3 nymphs supporting the upper tier with winged horses on the lower level. The fountain’s life in the middle of town was short lived. In the years following the end of the Civil War, public sentiment was raised to honor those who had died or participated in the conflict; Centre Square was chosen as the location so long as an appropriate spot could be found for the fountain already there. In March 1899, a motion to move the fountain to Nevin Park, a park on College Hill on land gifted to Easton by former mayor David Nevin in 1897, was made by city council to make room for the new impressive structure that was to be built in the Square.
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The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was erected in honor of Northampton County’s “heroes”, the men who served the Union in the Civil War. Centre Square was chosen as the site of the monument primarily because it had been a gathering place for the first volunteers as they went off to fight in the Civil War. Plans for the monument had been presented to the local G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) in 1895 by J.P. Correll. Once the funds had been raised and bids submitted, the Eagle Granite Company
A vintage postcard titled: Centre Square, Easton, Pa. circa 1926 based on the production number - 62311
Summer 2022
Easton Heritage Edition
11
