Marking a point many military members passed by on their way to fight for their country, the new Freedom Fountain in downtown Jacksonville is up and running.

Weve been working on this for quite some time, Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips said. Ever since the first Gulf War weve had this idea in mind.

The fountain features a center jet dedicated to freedom, a trio of surrounding fountainheads representing the federal, state and local government. Fifty bubblers at the rim of the edgeless pool represent the 50 states.

The original fountain was built at the Onslow County Courthouse but was demolished a few years ago to make room for the new jail. During a special ceremony Friday dedicating the fountain, vials of water were poured into the fountain to symbolize its official start.

We wanted the fountain in sight of other memorials as a beginning point to honor all those who have passed through Jacksonville in military service, Phillips said.

The Freedom Fountain, situated at New Bridge Street and Johnson Boulevard, is meant to extend the reach of the Lejeune Memorial Gardens, located at the entrance to Camp Johnson, into downtown. The gardens include the Beirut Memorial, Onslow Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and 9/11 Memorial. A Corpsman Memorial, a Montford Point Marine Memorial and the Museum of the Marine are also planned within the gardens.

The new Freedom Fountain is surrounded on one side by wall arches that will house military sculptures meant to represent the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. More private donations are required before the five statues can be built, Phillips said.

The mayor said the engineers and construction company did an excellent job on the fountain, and he wanted to thank local developer Elijah Morton who donated the site work on the project.

Id also like to publicly thank Dr. (Richard) Woodruff for pushing this project along, Phillips said. He did a great job to get us where were at.

Woodruff, the Jacksonville city manager, said construction bids came in much lower than anticipated. The fountains estimated cost is $600,000.

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Freedom Fountain dedicated