Public Square/Julius Joseph Fountain

Public Square

Laid out in 1823, the Public Square has long been a gathering place for businesspersons, elected officials and community members. Some of the earliest fixtures on the Square were a jail, 1823-1831; an estray pound, 1823-1833; the first courthouse, 1830-1854; and the courthouse annex, 1845-1854. Additionally, the early Square housed a public well, added in 1828, and a market house, added in 1835. By the 1860s, Public Square began taking on its current form, with most of the area being boxed in by two- and three-story buildings. Drinking fountains in the shape of decorative lion’s mouths were in each of the Square’s corners, and the center was used as both a road and a gathering place. In 1900, the area remained an open stretch, but soon gave way to the interurban line running through Harrison Street. Around 1906, the Square was paved, and in 1923, the Julius Joseph Fountain was installed. Parking spaces were situated around the Square next to the sidewalks once automobiles were in use, and traffic went counterclockwise around the Square, as well as through the Square next to the fountain. The interurban line was uninstalled in the 1930s, and in 1946, the center of the Square was closed to traffic and became a parking area. The Bears of Blue River statue was moved to Public Square in 1980, and an improvement project that saw the placement of brick sidewalks, planters for shrubs and flowers, ornamental trees and flowers on the four corners, and black wrought-iron benches was completed.

Julius Joseph Fountain

Erected in 1923, the Julius Joseph Fountain was erected through a gift of $5,000 from Julius Joseph. Joseph had immigrated from Germany at an early age and settled in Cincinnati with his brother Jonas. The pair moved to Shelbyville in 1877 and founded a men’s clothing store before moving onto the furniture business, particularly the Hodell Furniture Company. Following his death in 1921, the City Council accepted his gift, and in 1929, shrubbery and later flower beds and flowers were planted around the base of the fountain. The fountain was removed in 1951 but was restored in 1980.