If you’ve had the chance to travel around the state of Utah, you may have found that the taste of the drinking water varies from one place to another. You might enjoy delicious water straight from your tap in Murray, but if you live in Magna, the water definitely has a less-than-ideal flavor.
One way to get tasty water is to find it from a spring or well. There’s a tiny little park in North Ogden that has water that’s so good that people drive from all over to taste it!
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You’ll find Bicentennial Park in North Ogden at 2641 North 400 East. It’s a little oasis tucked away in the city.
Robert Bolar/Google
The park offers some green space that’s perfect for picnicking…
Tiffany and Kyle Staheli/Google
…and you can always find a few dozen ducks to keep you company.
Natalie Quinn/Google
While the park offers a shady respite, people come from all over for a different reason. The water fountain you see here isn’t just any ordinary fountain. It has a cool history, and holds a special place in the hearts of North Ogden residents.
Peter Bugnet/Google Back in the early 1930s, Clarence Barker drilled a well for irrigation, and found that the water was clean, clear, and delicious. The owner of a nearby hamburger stand piped in the well water to his property, then dragged a large cottonwood tree stump there. The huge stump required the strength of four horses to put it in place.
The owner of the hamburger stand, Joe Baliff, installed a drinking fountain in the stump, and placed a sign advertising his business there. The sign read, “Good water, isn’t it? Try our hamburgers.”
Tiffany and Kyle Staheli/Google Over the years, the hamburger stand and its sign went by the wayside, but the tree and its fountain still provided fresh, clean drinking water to the anyone who wanted to bring a container and fill it.
You can read all about the history of the original stump and its piped-in well water on the sign in front of the fountain.
Chadwick Timmerman/Google
In 1998, city leaders had a fiberglass version of the original tree created. The water still comes from a well on the Barker property, and it’s tested for safety twice per month. Stop by for a sip at the fountain…
Ben Johns/Google
…or bring some containers along and fill them up so you can enjoy this clean, delicious water at home!
Rosilu Ronnfeldt/Google
Have you visited The Stump? Tell our readers about it in the comments!
Robert Bolar/Google
Tiffany and Kyle Staheli/Google
Natalie Quinn/Google
Peter Bugnet/Google
Back in the early 1930s, Clarence Barker drilled a well for irrigation, and found that the water was clean, clear, and delicious. The owner of a nearby hamburger stand piped in the well water to his property, then dragged a large cottonwood tree stump there. The huge stump required the strength of four horses to put it in place.
Over the years, the hamburger stand and its sign went by the wayside, but the tree and its fountain still provided fresh, clean drinking water to the anyone who wanted to bring a container and fill it.
Chadwick Timmerman/Google
Ben Johns/Google
Rosilu Ronnfeldt/Google
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Address: 2641 N 400 E St, North Ogden, UT 84414, USA
