POUGHKEEPSIE – A memorial service to honor fallen military heroes is being held on Sunday at 3:00 pm at Soldiers Memorial Fountain in Poughkeepsie. The American Legion Lafayette Post 37, under the command of Nathan “Nate the Great” Grant, in conjunction with the City of Poughkeepsie, invite the public to attend the brief, solemn memorial that honors the soldiers and sailors who gave their lives in defense of the country.
Soldiers Memorial Fountain, one of four in existence, was constructed as a monument to Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. The fountain is at the triangular piece of land at the city’s intersection of Montgomery and Market Streets.
The 154-year-old fountain, one of four in existence, was constructed as a monument to Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. Capped by the Goddess Demeter, Soldiers Memorial Fountain features 24 water jets imported from Paris during the construction in the 1800s. The monument was dedicated in Poughkeepsie on July 4, 1870. The city, under then-Mayor Rob Rolison, underwent repair work to revive the fountain in 2020.
Two other fountains cast from the same mold in New York City were placed in Savannah, Georgia, and Madison, Indiana with the fourth delivered to Cusco, Peru. The most notable, often called the Poughkeepsie twin, is in Savannah.
