Looking back at the fountain story, it turned out that Cogswell’s impossible demands led to the final rejection of his offer and this was a fortunate decision. The “Chronicle”, whether because of “sour grapes” or a sense of relief, came up with new information about the “millionaire dentist” and his gifts.  Interesting to not in hindsight however, is that perhaps no one remembered that three months before Cogswell’s offer was relayed to Willimantic’s burgesses, the “Chronicle” had published the following article. “Mrs. Almira D. Wilson, now deceased, told the following story, which reads like a romance, but which is strictly true. Years ago, some ladies, Mrs. W. among the number, fitted out a poor boy with clothes that he might leave our poor house. His small possessions were packed in a box, the box put on a sled, and boy, sled and box left our town. The boy grew to be a man, and after a time went to California to seek his fortune, and by his trade, a dentist's, money began to come in. He then bought land where now is the city of San Francisco, and as he had opportunity, he sold his land in the shape of building lots. After a while he was spoken of as a millionaire; then gifts came to the poor people here; by the hands of Mrs. Wilson the money sent was dispensed to worthy ones, or a thanksgiving dinner at the poor-house was provided. A sum of money was also given as a fund for the Methodist Sunday school library. Here her story ends, but not his gifts. Five hundred dollars given by him was the nucleus of our circulating library. We read of the establishment of drinking fountains by his thoughtfulness in various cities, and of his proposed gift to the city of Hartford. Some people preach temperance, but all honor to those who make it convenient to practice this virtue.” but the gift of $500 had been mentioned in the “Chronicle in December, 1879. In July, 1883, the “Chronicle reproduced a story from the “Hartford Courant”. “The following which is taken from the Hartford Courant will be of interest in this locality as the gentleman alluded to made a similar proposition to this village: "Dr. H.D. Cogswell, of San Francisco, offered two years ago to present to the city of Brooklyn (NY) a drinking fountain to be erected in the plaza in front of the city hall. It is now said that a statue which has been cast to surmount the fountain, and which represents the guardian of the fountain presenting a cup of water is to be a likeness of Dr. Cogswell. It was intended to expend from $5,000 to $7,000 in beautifying the plaza to make it worthy of the fountain, but the alleged discovery that the fountain is designed principally to celebrate Dr. Cogswell is said to have cooled the zeal of several Brooklyn aldermen and other officials”. A follow up story appeared in 1884. “Brooklyn has a fountain such as we just escaped not long ago. The New York Star comments on it as follows: The fellow named Cogswell, who has had the temerity to offer this municipality a drinking fountain, seems to be an empiric who is taking the same method of advertising his nostrums in different cities. He has succeeded in getting upon of his structures in Brooklyn, and the population is almost moved to tears or dynamite at its contemplation. It is of zinc, fifteen feet high, with an advertisement of Cogswell blown in one side and his life-size effigy in a frock coat on top.” Similar stories from various cities and towns were published with the common thread that the fountains which had been erected were widely rejected by the communities after people saw them. The one in Washington D.C. was called, “the city’s ugliest statue”. The one in San Francisco was torn down by a group that called themselves “art lovers”. In Dubuque Iowa, “a statue of was pulled down by a group of vandals. Interestingly enough, Rockville, CT had accepted one and set it in place about the same time as Willimantic had accepted it. That one was torn down and thrown into Shenipsit Lake. It was recovered but disappeared again. Reappearing in 1908, it was then melted down for scrap metal during WWII. For many years the base remained in place in Rockville but with a stone urn on top of it. Years later, a Rockville resident commissioned a replica of the statue and today, that replica sits on the original base in Rockville’s Town Green.