The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-10-29
MEMoRIAL DRlNKING roUNrAIn

Editor The Commonwealth:
There Is TO occur ii the neAr future n
Greenwood an event Of unusual import
anee because Of thefact thAtiuwill COM
: circumstances and perpetu
ate . date that marks the beginning Of
the wonderful development of the
whole Delta section Of Mississippi Wei
refer to the dedication Of the splendid
drinking fountain INSIDE Of . aolid block
Of Georgia granite weighing 40 tons soon
to be placed in the play grounds of the
public schools for the use of the school
children of Greenwood
It is a matter of history, but of suf-
ficiently recent date for many of your
readers to recall tina the Yazoo MISSISSIPPI
pi Delta was more wilderness than peo-
pie, it vas considered-as indeed the
name ..Yazoo" implies-"death," to
undertake to live" in the Delta. One
Of the many contributing causes to
this unhealthful condition was the alb
sence of palatable drinking water, the
water obtained from the surface wells
, was contaminated and but little better
than if taken from stagnant pools.
It was generally thought that arte-
sian water could not be obtained, in
fact Commodore Maury a man of great
learning and repute author of the phys
ical geography of the United States
had published in his geography that
artesian water could not be obtained
west of the Tombigby river and east of
the foot hills of the Ozarks in Arkansas,
giving as one OF the main reasons the
interference of quicksand. However
it became necessary in the prosecution
of his business-the manufacturing of
ice-for a citizen of Greenwood, to
have pure water and he started after
it, with the expectation, not of secur-
ing flowing water, but hoping to End
pure water by going deep enough, that
could be obtained in sufficient quanti-
ties as a pumping proposition.
In the spring of 1896, Mr.. Charles E.
Wright. possessed of more energy and
progressive spirit than anything else,
at that time, proposed to the mayor
and board of aldermen of the city Of
Greenwood, consisting of the following
well known citizens, viz: Mayor, Hon.
E. l.. Miller; Aldermen, F. R. Austin.
R. H. Barrett, Albert Aaron, A. F.
Fardner and R. T. Jones, that if they
would buy the pipe for a we'll he would
buy the well boring rig. put down the
first well and if successful in obtaining
a supply Of good water then put in a
; well for the city free of cost except the
piping. The first well was completed
during the month of June, 1896, prov
ing to be an artesian well of unusually
: pure water and flowed through a three
r inch pipe forty-two feet above the
: ground, if encased in pipe reaching
that height.
!. When this pure water gushed forth
from its reservoir beneath the EARTH
2 surface the question Of good water sup
3 ply FOR the Yaxoo- Mississippi pelts
!. passed from the realm al nnsertainty
{ to that Of realisation and became at once
! a potent factor in the development o,
this garden of plenty" marking The
beginning OF a new era, making for tn.
4 health and happiness of its inhabitants
We are indebted to Chakchiums
Chapter of the D. A.. R. of this city
! for this magnificent gift and the write,
thinks it would be a gracious act or
! the part of the City Government, the
S Business League, the Cotton Exchange
f other organizations and citizens of the
t city and county to hold a joint meeting,
invite prominent speakers and make
of the acceptance and unwilling of thi.
fountain a day long to be remembered
: in the annals of our city.
OPTIMIST.