Charles Arthur Fountain Biography


	This biography appears on pages 338-339 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				CHARLES ARTHUR FOUNTAIN. 

	Charles Arthur Fountain, cashier of the Commercial Bank of 
Watertown, was born in Nashua, lowa, on the 7th of November, 1858, a 
son of George H. and Dolly A. (Brown) Fountain, the former a native of 
the state of New York and the latter of Illinois, where they were 
married, the father having gone to that state when a young man. 
Immediately following their marriage they removed to New Hampton, Iowa, 
where Mr. Fountain opened a hotel, and subsequently he removed with his 
family to Nashua, Iowa, where he also conducted a hotel for a time. He 
afterward embarked in merchandising and was thus prominently and 
successfully identified with commercial pursuits for many years, but 
eventually disposed of his store and for some years represented the 
house of G. Becker, wholesale clothiers of Chicago. In 1880, while 
still with that house, he came to South Dakota and homesteaded one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, also taking up a tree claim of one 
hundred and sixty acres and preempting a quarter section near the 
present county scat of Clark county. While he made his home there he 
continued his work as a commercial salesman up to the time of his 
death. His widow survives and now makes her home with her children. 

	Charles A. Fountain spent his youthful days with his parents, 
acquiring his education in the public schools of Nashua, Iowa, with an 
evening commercial course in a business college in Minneapolis, 
Minnesota. In early manhood he spent a period of several months as an 
employee in a lumberyard in that city and later engaged in clerking in 
a grocery store there. 

	In 1880 Mr. Fountain came to South Dakota with his father and on 
his arrival here he availed himself, as did the father, of the 
opportunity to secure land in this state free. He homesteaded a quarter 
section, took up a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres and also 
preempted another quarter section adjoining the present county seat of 
Clark county. At that time, however, there was no town there and not 
for two years thereafter was a railroad built into the county. He 
turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, which he carried 
on for four or five years and then entered the county courthouse, where 
for several years he served as clerk in the office of the recorder of 
deeds and in the county treasurer's office. In 1890 he was appointed 
chief clerk of the Crow Creek Indian reservation under President 
Harrison and served in that position until after the election of 
President Cleveland, when he was removed to make way for a democratic 
successor. Mr. Fountain was then called to Lakota, North Dakota, to 
assist in the management of a company store being operated by the 
Minneapolis Elevator people. He managed the business for two years and 
then returned to Clark, South Dakota. He was afterward made assistant 
cashier in the Clark County Bank and remained in that position for 
three years. While serving in the bank he was elected county auditor of 
Clark county and filled that position through two terms. On the 
expiration of his second term he was appointed state bank examiner for 
South Dakota and remained in that important position for seven years or 
for a longer period than any other incumbent. In November, 1911, 
however, he resigned and came to Watertown to accept his present 
position as cashier of the Commercial Bank. As the years have gone on 
his activities have been of increasing importance, connecting him more 
and more largely with interests bearing upon the welfare, upbuilding 
and progress of the different communities with which he has been 
associated. 

	In 1882 Mr. Fountain was united in marriage to Miss Mira A. 
Hager, of St. Paul, Minnesota, by whom he has a daughter, Nellie, now 
the wife of Frank H. Cannon, a real-estate dealer of Watertown, South 
Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Cannon have two sons, Frank Fountain and Robert 
Cassius. 

	In fraternal circles Mr. Fountain is widely known, having 
membership in Watertown Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Watertown Chapter, No. 
12, R. A. M.; Myrtle Lodge, No. 43, K. P., of Clark, South Dakota; 
Watertown Lodge, No. 838, B. P. O. E.; the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen of Clark; and the Modern Brotherhood of America at Clark. He is 
a charter member of four of these organizations, and is a prominent 
figure in fraternal circles, exemplifying in his life the basic 
principles of brotherhood and mutual helpfulness upon which these 
different orders are founded. He is also a member of the Watertown 
Country Club and his wife is a member of the Congregational church. 
Both are highly esteemed and in their section of the state they are 
widely and favorably known, their many good traits of heart and mind 
endearing them to all with whom they have been brought in contact.