Shown in the coloured postcard around 1910, The Queen Victoria Fountain was funded by public donations in 1901 as a tribute to Queen Victoria. The former queen had died earlier that year at the age of 81, having been monarch of the British Empire for 63 of those and becoming the longest-reigning British monarch up to that point, an honour now claimed by her great-great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Constructed of 82 stones to commemorate the number of years of the queen's life (1819-1901), the monument became a mainstay of the emergent city's urban life. Originally located on the corner of Main and Ferry on the Lundy's Lane battlefield, it was used to provide water for horses, dogs and humans. The fountain's inscription reads "Erected by Loyal Citizens A.D. 1901. Committe Reeve G Wellis Chariman, Councillors E Fraser, J Forde, P G Shrimpton, J Wilson, God Save the King."
Later, the fountain was deemed a traffic hazard and moved down the street about 100 metres to its present location in front of the Niagara Falls History Museum, which itself is located within the former Stamford city hall building.
Niagara Falls Public Library. 2017. Niagara Falls - Then & Now: A Photographic Journey Through The Years. [Queen Victoria Fountain/ Niagara Falls History Museum Fountain].
Niagara Falls Public Library. 2020. History at Home: Queen Victoria Fountain. https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/history-notes/victoriafountain.aspx
Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by
Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.
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