A drinking fountain and an animal trough in the Queen’s Park Savannah preserve a modest but revealing chapter of Port of Spain’s history. According to the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago, both were built in the 1850s as part of Lord Harris’ project to bring piped water from Maraval into the capital.
The Trust’s Heritage Preservation and Research Department describes the structures as evidence of the Savannah’s communal importance. At a time when access to clean water was difficult for much of the population, the fountain and trough supplied a practical need for travellers and their animals.
Their construction also holds historical interest. The Trust says the structures operated by gravity and were built using lime mortar, a local construction material also used in buildings and monuments of the period. Their significance lies in the combination of engineering, materials and public use, as well as their age.
The account connects the Savannah’s water infrastructure with its former role as pasture. Indian immigrants from Boissiere village in Maraval, who were tenants of the Champs Elysees Estate, paid a dollar a month at the Town Hall for their cattle to graze there, according to the Trust.
These structures belong to a broader understanding of heritage. The Trust’s article describes heritage assets as buildings, monuments, objects, sites, places, areas and landscapes with historical, archaeological, natural or architectural importance. It reports more than 400 entries in its Heritage Asset Inventory, a continuously growing record of assets across the country’s communities.
The article also raises concern about the condition of the Savannah fountain and trough. Their story shows why seemingly ordinary infrastructure deserves attention: a place to drink can preserve evidence of a city’s water supply, construction practices and shared public life.