City Hopes Weekly Scrubbings Will Keep Algae at Bay in 1917 Fountain

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury continues to struggle with the water in the fountain in the City Park, which is prone to turn green from algae. The currently solution is weekly cleaning.Newly installed City Administrator Matthew Jacobs told FJN, “The Streets and Parks Foreman has been informed of this situation. He has assured me that going forward the historic fountain will be drained and cleaned every Friday afternoon during the regular seasons of operation (spring, summer, and fall).”The historical fountain was first installed in 1917. In April of that year, the Park Board made arrangements for the installation of an electric fountain in the City Park. A landscape gardener, whose services were requested by the board, recommended the fountain be placed near the park entrance. It was installed in August of that same year.The fountain cost approximately $1,000, paid for with donations from area residents. It has a cement pool, 20 feet in diameter. The fountain itself was made of cast iron by the J.L. Mott Foundry Company in New York.World War I was still being fought when the fountain was installed. On April 5, 1917 The Fairbury Journal published a story about the fountain which said, in part, “Perhaps with…an electric fountain, the citizens of this village may be able to temporarily forget their troubles and the horrors of war and spend a few hours in peace…this summer.”The Historic 1917 City Park fountain was dismantled in 2020 and transferred off site for some long overdue repairs and renovation by local artist Thom Hunt of Ratt Studios. The fountain was returned to the park in June of last year.When the problem was first noticed, Hunt blamed the pump. A post on Ratt Studios' Facebook page, the cause of the algae is, “wrong pump no filter.”Ratt Studios also posted, “This is disappointing to me and our company seems like a lot of money spent for nothing.”A new pump was installed but the algae continued to recur.

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