Fountain Came Home

After sitting in place for probably over a century the big fountain in the middle of Broadway Park was taken out for a much need work over and renovation on July 9, 2009. I've been told that fountain is one of the originals when the park was built in the early years of the 20th Century.

In the advanced stages of deterioration the fountain was removed and taken up the street to a company that has been in Wellsville, Ohio, longer than Broadway Park. The work was done by Stevenson Company. That company opened its doors for business back in 1836 as the Fulton Foundry. It was later bought by Samuel Stevenson and renamed the Steveson Company a few years later. Presently owned by brothers Tim & Todd Lynch, Stevenson has been in continual operation for 173 years. Could it be possible that this fountain was originally manufactured there?

A week ago today, Monday, July 27, the folks from Stevenson brought the fountain home and reinstalled it. It's a thing of beauty. Once they got it in the shop it was sand blasted back to bare metal. Then the repair work began. A new base was manufactured out of stainless steel. The old one was cast iron and beyond repair. A lot of welding was done and a polymer was used to cover the new welds. The braiding around the stem of the fountain had a lot missing. Stevenson took what was left, made molds and then made replacements for the missing parts. You can't tell the difference once everything was reattached and painted. They designed a decorative touch of curlicue things to add to where the base is attached to the fountain. They are also made of stainless and add to the antique look. They took a polymer and sprayed the base to give it a textured look. All in all they did a whale of a job restoring this fountain.

While the fountain was gone a new cement floor was put in the pool part. After the cement cured it was sealed to insure that the water will remain. All the fountains use pumps to recycle the water. Wellsville Street Dept. employee Kevin Fullerton has takened it upon himself to keep the Broadway Fountains working and in show case condition. Kevin, along with fellow Street Dept. employee Dave Rawson, worked on this project with the people at Stevenson from the start. Village Administrator Jim Saracco gave them the green light to proceed and is giving all the credit to Kevin, Dave and the guys at Stevenson for a job well done. Everybody is proud of what they accomplished. Kevin tells me the fountain is going back to the shop sometime after the water is shut off this fall. There are a few minor things that wasn't evident without the water that Stevenson wants to take care of.

Regardless, it's really awesome and adds to the finishing touch getting all the fountains working along with all that has been done to make Broadway Park one of the points of pride in the village. The next time you're walking or driving along Broadway take a look at how nice it now looks. It's easy to see why Wellsville is a nice place to call home...

ole nib