After The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum opened in 1975, continual improvements were made to the museum grounds and the building. One of those improvements was the installation of a courtyard fountain.
The fountain was installed in 1977 in memory of Jane Moyer, a Little Falls resident. Friends of Jane, including Alphild Michaels, Keith & Viola Tanner, Lucy & Edward Tanner, Bob & Sarah Maud Sivertsen, and Laura Jane Musser, made contributions for the fountain.
The fountain was manufactured by Robinson Iron of Alexander City, Alabama, a company that exists to this day. The Weyerhaeuser Museum’s fountain is one of the popular “Roman Fluted” style that Robinson Iron offers. It has a 5-foot “Frog & Turtle” basin. The cost of the fountain, including shipping, was $1,618.36. Miller-Dunwiddie Architects, Inc., the architecture firm that designed the museum, was involved with the installation of the fountain and the landscaping around it.
During shipping, the fountain that was shipped from Robinson Iron “cracked in half” and was “refused by [the] other truck line”. (On Hand Notice, Terminal Transport Co., Inc., 10/18/1977, Weyerhaeuser Museum documents 1973-1988) It was returned to the company “for adjustments.” (MCHS Board Minutes, September 22, 1977) The weight of the 2 crates with the fountain and basin came to 940 pounds.
According to Jan Warner, MCHS executive director, the 2 crates sat outside for a while before the fountain was installed because a bird built a nest on one of the crates and no one wanted to disturb the eggs before they hatched.
The fountain has been at Ricky Masog’s shop in Little Falls to be re-welded as of late. It has been repainted and returned to the museum and is awaiting installation once we get a new pump. Museum staff looks forward to the soothing sounds of burbling water in the courtyard.
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Celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum.