The Winthrop fountain is a popular symbol of Winthrop and a beloved campus landmark. The surrounding benches and shade trees attract students seeking a quiet respite in the heart of the campus. During the winter months, the fountain freezes into a beautiful ice sculpture.
The historic campus fountain stopped working in 2018, nearly a century after its installation. It cannot be restored but rather must be replaced to fully function again. Fundraising efforts currently underway will replace the existing fountain and restore this iconic symbol of Winthrop. Estimated cost for the Fountain Restoration Project is $500,000. The project will be funded by the generosity of Winthrop alumni, community members and friends.
According to the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop, the current fountain in front of Tillman Hall was constructed sometime between 1918-19 and is the second fountain in this location. It replaced an earlier fountain that was installed around 1897 and moved at some point between 1912-13. The original fountain was moved to Roddey Courtyard shortly after Roddey was completed in 1920. By the 1950s, it had been replaced by the “boy and fish” fountain.
Alumni have fond memories of the fountain that is currently on the front lawn, as it has served as the place where many Winthrop traditions have been held over the years. The fountain has been the backdrop for many Winthrop traditions, including:
Daisy Chain
In 1903, President Johnson brought the idea of the Daisy Chain to campus in an effort to promote Winthrop to state and local dignitaries and community members. Daisies were gathered by students and made into a long chain with rope and ivy, and after singing class songs, the president of the senior class signified the passing of the senior rank to the junior class by giving her mortar board to the junior class president. Seniors then “capped” the juniors and the daisy chain was left wrapped around the designated class tree. The tradition originally followed Commencement, but as the years passed and enrollment grew, the Daisy Chain moved to the day before Commencement and relocated from the fountain to the athletic field adjacent to Crawford. The tradition was phased out in 1961.
SGA President Dunked in the Fountain
The Student Government Association established a tradition popular among students in the 1940s, ’50s, '60s, and ’70s. Each spring, students assembled to observe the installation ceremony for officers of the student government and various campus organizations, which included the outgoing SGA president dunking the incoming president in the fountain. In 1960, immediately following the installation of the SGA president, students surprised then university president Charles Davis with a spontaneous dunk in the fountain.
Winthrop Annual Tree Lighting
Originally, a decorated Christmas tree in Main Building (now Tillman Hall) was lit to usher in the Christmas season. In 1935, the Christmas tree lighting was moved to the magnolia tree on front campus adjacent to the fountain.
In 1969 the ceremony became an official event, and it continues today as part of the City of Rock Hill’s ChristmasVille, an annual celebration of the Christmas season. The Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Council host the Winthrop Annual Tree Lighting where hundreds of attendees gather on the front lawn.
Work began on the Fountain Restoration Project in 2020. A study was commissioned by Winthrop through the generosity of an anonymous donor to determine the design and cost to replace the fountain. The study determined the cost and practicality to redesign the existing fountain area and improve accessibility at the site. The redesigned area will include paved surfaces, replace the existing fountain and provide seating. The existing fountain will be removed, and a new similarly sized and configured fountain will be installed.
The renderings above reflect design renderings for the overall design of the project.
Accessibility at the site will also be improved, not only by providing new paved surfaces,
but also modifying the existing parking and replacing the existing sidewalk. An arrangement
of brick and concrete pavement associated with the new fountain will surround it and
connect the fountain to the sidewalk, as well as allowing seating to surround the
fountain.
On-site work is underway to replace Winthrop University’s iconic fountain visible from Oakland Avenue. Southern Builders of York County Inc. won the project bid. The tentative project schedule is below, which is weather and material delivery dependent:
Project work as of June 8, 2023
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Winthrop President Edward Serna ’02 expressed excitement for the progress he is seeing right outside his office window. “The run-up to this project has been a labor of love on the part of so many campus stakeholders who have enthusiastically supported not only getting the water flowing again, but truly making this a distinctive feature with fantastic possibilities for the future,” he said. “I have a catbird seat to the work and can’t wait to see it starting.”
To date, more than $480,000 has been raised toward a $500,000 project goal. The Classes of 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 selected the Fountain Restoration Project as their 50-year reunion fundraising projects. Thanks to these reunion classes and the generosity of Winthrop alumni, community members and friends, the fountain will come to life again and continue to be a significant asset to the beauty of the Winthrop campus. Other significant gifts have been donated by community groups such as the Herbert and Anna Lutz Foundation in Chester County. That organization awarded Winthrop a $25,000 grant in 2021.
For more information about the Fountain Restoration Project, please contact Lori Tuttle, executive director of alumni relations and reunion giving, at tuttlel@winthrop.edu or 803/323-3049. Click below to support the Fountain Restoration Project.
