The Hutchinson Fountain was first presented to Michigan City in 1909 in the memory of William B. Hutchinson. With a large trough for horses, smaller trough’s near the top and ground for birds & dogs, and a drinking fountain on the backside for people passing by, the fountain could be accessed by anyone, animal or human, that could need its use. William B. Hutchinson was elected mayor of Michigan City in 1876 and re-elected in 1878, and then was elected as state senator in 1880. He also was the founder and president of the Citizens Bank in Michigan City. The fountain was originally placed on the northeast corner of 10th and Franklin street, in front of Michigan City Fire Department Company #2. 

When the fountain had outlived its usefulness for horses that were no longer commonplace in the city, the fountain was moved in the 1930’s to 10th and Wabash, when the road was being widened. The fountain was made out of red Missouri Granite, and constructed in the Indiana State Prison by the  Mt. Airy Stone Co., which employed 200 prisoners within the prison walls in the cutting of stone monuments and tombstones. 

At its new location on Wabash street, the fountain saw a steady decline in part due to vandalism over the next couple decades. The lion’s head, the birds, and one of the cupids were stolen, and the globes at the top were hit with stones. When Wabash street was widened, the fountain was in such disarray in the 1960’s that it was disassembled and stored in city barns instead of being moved to another location. The Hutchinson Fountain was eventually moved and reassembled on the grounds of the Old Lighthouse Museum in order for it to be restored, and after five years of fundraising it was finally restored and rededicated in its new current location in 1981.