The History of the Community Fountain

In the mid-1920s, the City of Silverton added a special attraction to the Coolidge-McClaine City Park: A simple wading pool for the smaller kids to splash around in while their older siblings used Silver Creek as their own. Over the years, a professional facility replaced the creek, and the wading pool fell into neglect. It was nursed along during the tenure of Lee Martin Rumely, a local-born City of Silverton employee, who made it his job to honor our memories by looking after our infrastructure. When Leo’s life was tragically cut short, the City and his Friends erected a memorial plaque, and re-purposed the wading pool into a fountain.

Again, after years of neglect this piece of Silverton Heritage is once again in need of some serious TLC. Enter the Third Cohort of The Ford Family Foundation’s (TFFF) Community Leadership Program. As our project, we have taken it upon our selves to not only restore, but enhance the fountain by a hand-placed mosaic, created by the community itself. A series of summer workshops led by a master craftperson will help lead one and all, young and old into creating a lasting memory to our community while enhancing our City Park’s usability.