Thursday, fourth grade students from U.S. Jones Elementary School visited Bluff Hall for Heritage Days. As part of their tour, the group took time to enjoy the historic fountain, which school children before them were responsible for bringing.

The students also read an article from the week the fountain was put in place:

The celebration of the 150 anniversary of Demopolis has inspired every person in town to participate in some way.

There have been jobs for men, some for women and many for school children.

One of the projects which Demopolis high school and elementary school children have undertaken with much enthusiasm has been raising funds to purchase a lovely fountain as a memorial to the French settlers.

Each child brought to school nickels, dimes, quarters or whatever he could save from his or her allowance to go toward purchasing the fountain.

The fountain will be erected between Bluff Hall and the modern Community Center on the White Bluffs, where exiles from Napoleon’s army landed in 1817. the 8 foot 2 inch fountain will be placed in a circular pool and bordered by a brick terrace. There will be colored lights shining on it every night.

Saturday, Oct. 28, 1967 French Ambassador Charles Lucet will officially dedicate this fountain and after the Demopolis High School Band plays “Marseillaise,” the fountain will be activated by the president of the Student Council.

A plaque will be placed on the outer rim of the pool so that people in years to come may know its history. The inscription will say “On this bluff in midsummer, 1817, a group of French exiles founded the city of Demopolis. This memorial fountain, erected in their honor in 1967, is a gift from the school children of Demopolis.”