CARBONDALE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A piece of history is now back home in the pioneer city. A century-old granite fountain arrived at the Department of Public Works (DPW) four weeks ago.
The people of Carbondale will soon see the return of a fountain from the 1900s.
Once a pit stop for horses and buggies, the fountain was quite popular until it had to be moved to accommodate a home being moved across town.
Carbondale's mayor tells 28/22 News she's excited to be able to bring back this piece of history.
"You know, whenever we have a historic piece that belongs in the city of Carbondale, we'd love to showcase it, and we thought this would be a perfect location for it at the site of the Chellino Hotel," Carbondale Mayor Michele Bannon said.
The fountain was bought and removed from its original site in the 1920s, and it wasn't until recently that the city wanted to see its return.
The trip to get it back seemed miraculous.
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"We found out it was out near the girls' camp out in Tunkhannock, Kingsley area. We took JS Wright Excavating out. We were able to recover it from the woods. The sky opened up that day with rain as soon as we got it up on the trucks, so it was just amazing," Carbondale DPW Supervisor Gloria Maddage explained.
Courtesy of the Carbondale Historical Society
The journey to get their fountain back hasn't cost taxpayers anything as generosity from locals is fueling the project.
"We do run the city on a shoestring. We try not to be a burden to our taxpayers, so this whole entire project is just sweat labor right now, just sweat equity. Everything that we have into it, donated time, donated resources, everything so far has been donated, thank goodness," Mayor Bannon added.
Not only is the effort bringing the community together, but the payoff will make it all worth it.
"I find us to be very iconic, I find us to be very prestigious, so to be able to share those stories with our community is important to me, and bringing back a piece of history, something so fun, just the piece itself is so incredibly beautiful, it's gargantuan, it's gigantic, so it's just exciting to have it back," Mayor Bannon continued.
"It's amazing any time you bring history back to Carbondale, you know, all of us are a part of it, it's not just a few people," said Maddage.
The old site of the Chellino Hotel will be turned into a pocket park, and the fountain will be placed there, connecting the area to the downtown section.
The fountain will remain at the DPW site until PennDOT fixes the nearby bridge and the pocket park is built.
