No plans to fix Rehoboth’s historic Boardwalk water fountain

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union water fountain on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach hasn’t worked since at least the beginning of the COVID pandemic and doesn’t look like it’s going to be repaired anytime soon.

The fountain has not been working for a few years, and, at this time, there are no plans to undertake what would be extensive repairs to the fountain, said Lynne Coan, city spokesperson. 

Located on the far eastern edge of Rehoboth Avenue at the Boardwalk, the water fountain stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide. Its spigot was mounted on a white-marble slab spanned by a granite arch. The fountain was erected in 1929 in celebration of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union’s 50th anniversary in Delaware. 

According to an article from the Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs written in August 2020, the WCTU was organized in Ohio in 1874 by women who were concerned about the destructive power of alcohol and the problems it was causing their families and society. The WCTU initiated the practice of erecting public water fountains across the country in 1874 as a visible means of quenching one’s thirst with water instead of alcohol. The fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

According to the city’s 2020 comprehensive development plan, the water fountain is one of two places in the city on the National Register of Historic Places. The other is All Saints' Episcopal Church, which was built in 1893.

“It is recommended that the city take steps to increase public awareness of and appreciation for historic structures and consider other actions to preserve and protect these valuable resources,” reads the CDP.

Lifelong Rehoboth Beach resident and community activist Evelyn D. Thoroughgood, who died in 2015, did a lot of the work to get the water fountain on the National Register.

“This drinking fountain has been here operating since 1929 through hurricanes, nor’easters and the famous storm of ’62,” Thoroughgood said in 2009 when the recognition was bestowed on the fountain. “This is where parents dropped their kids off, dates met each other. This was the big meeting place in the center of Rehoboth.”

A historical marker explaining the significance of the water fountain located nearby has also fallen off. Coan said the marker apparently fell off during one of the recent storms; the city has the marker.

Since the city has no plans to repair the water fountain, Coan said it doesn’t have a cost estimate for the work.