The State Line Secret: Texarkana’s Fountain with a Horse of a Tale

If you grew up in Texarkana like me, more than likely, you've seen the water fountain on State Line Avenue. Thousands of people drive by it every day, probably not realizing the significant history of this water fountain, its purpose, and who it was named after.

The Ensign Fountain - Texarkana

The water fountain was named after philanthropist Herman Lee Ensign, founder of the National Humane Alliance of New York. This fountain became unique because it was originally designed as a drinking fountain for horses and smaller animals in the 1900s who were traveling across the country. Horses could drink from the middle of the trough-like bowl, while dogs could drink from the bottom of the fountain, but it was designed for people to drink from it too.

This type of fountain became so popular that Ensign commissioned the specially designed fountains to be duplicated nationwide. The National Humane Alliance was instructed to place at least one of these fountains in each state in America after Ensign's death in 1899. Between 1904 and 1912, over 100 cities across the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico took advantage of the free offer

Since Texarkana was in two states, Texas and Arkansas, it was placed on the state line in front of the downtown U.S. Post Office Federal building in 1909 before being moved further down State Line Avenue in 1966, where it remains today at the corner of State Line Avenue and 7th Street on the Arkansas-side of the line. The fountain is now non-functional, but still stands as a testament to time and history from days gone by. For the record, only a handful of these purpose-built fountains are still operable today. It's too bad the Ensign fountain in Texarkana is no longer working, but only the memories.

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