I was sitting on the front porch of the Bill Marner Blacksmith Shop yesterday admiring the cast iron horse watering trough in front of me when I developed the urge to learn a little more about it --- as well as the history of its two mates that are used as planters near the veterans memorial on the courthouse lawn at the northwest corner of the square (below).
Some things I already knew. There are four of these troughs, once located at the four corner of the Courthouse lawn, installed at a time when shoppers arrived downtown in horse-powered wagons or buggies, tethered their horses around the courthouse --- and the animals needed a source of water.
They were sold, perhaps about 1920, and removed. The trough at the museum was owned by the late Glenn Burgett (1898-1969), instrumental in organizing the historical society, and was donated to the museum by him not long before his death.
Forty years later, the two on the square were donated to Lucas County by Gene Keith. They had been purchased by Jack Sullivan and then passed to his son, Ed Sullivan, who used them to water ponies until they fell into disuse. Keith acquired the troughs from Ed Sullivan but promised to never sell them. He had used them as planters himself, so passed them on for use at the memorial with the provision (approved as a resoltion by the county supervisors) that they be returned to his family if county officials decided they were no longer wanted.
I don't know who has the fourth trough, but imagine it's still around. These are extraordinarily sturdy, very heavy and would be difficult to misplace.
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I was able to date placement of the troughs to 1907 thanks to the following recolution, published in The Chariton Leader of Dec. 6, 1906:
"The following resolution was ordered spread upon the minutes, whereas: The city of Chariton, Iowa, proposes to put in a 6-inch water pipe around the public square of Lucas county, Iowa, just inside the curbing around said public square, and put in one watering trough and one fire hydrant at each corner of said public square, and furnish water, free of charge to the public.
"Therefore: Be it resolved by the Board of Supervisors of Lucas county, in regular session assembled on the 3rd day of Dec. 1906, that there be appropriated the sum of one thousand dollars to the city of Chariton, Iowa, for the purpose of aiding in putting in said water pipes and watering troughs and fire hydrants on condition that the said city of Chariton or its assigns shall keep the same in repair and furnish ample supply of water in same to supply the public needs at all times without expense to Lucas county."
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I then located online a digital version of a J.B. Clow & Sons catalog from 1902 and, by golly, there were the troughs --- described as horse drinking fountains.
As it turns out, I'd misinterpreted as a drain the hole in the bottom of the troughs. Actually, this was the water inlet. The troughs drained, when they did, by overflowing.
There were two models here. One was designed for those with unlimited supplies of water, which would flow continually and overflow. The other model was equipped with a self-closing cock that allowed water to flow only when a horse was drinking. I'm guessing Chariton invested in the latter ($60 each) since the city water supply was very limited until Lake Ellis was built during 1915-1916.
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