Illinois was the only state to have Lincoln Highway drinking fountains.  They were donated by Carl Parker in memory of his mother, Amanda Sutherland Parker, who had grown up in the Garden Plain area of Whiteside County.  Originally, the fountains were to be placed every ten miles across Illinois.  This was not practical because of the water supply, so the fountains were donated to the towns and cities.  Seventeen fountains were donated, and the 1914 Progress Report states that nine of them were then being placed.

The fountains were donated free of charge, but the recipients had to meet certain criteria: 1) the name of the street that the Lincoln Highway traversed through town had to be changed to “Lincoln Way”; 2) that the entire route through town had to be marked with the painted LH signs; and 3) that the town had to agree to assume the expense of installing and maintaining the fountains.  The design of the fountain made it very useful in that it was a pedestal type with a drinking bubbler on the top and a spigot on the side for drawing off water in a pail.  Along the inside edge of the bowl were the words “In Memoriam” so that “all who stooped to drink would see it”.