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In many towns of New England, the first town fountains were built by the local temperance movement. For them, a fountain's pure flow of water was a stark and healthy contrast to the corruption and vice they saw coming from alcohol. Often, the impulse to build a fountain was reinforced by local campaigns to beautify their town. Both of these movements reached a peak in the late 19th century. The temperance movement's national reach would eventually result in the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The town beautification movement, begun with the building of Frederick Law Olmstead's Central Park in New York City, would result in the creation of hundreds of thousands of public spaces in villages, towns, and cities around the country.

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