The Issue: Removal of Andersonville's Water Tower

It's never good when water drips through your roof, but when that water is coming from an 11,000-pound block of ice, it's undeniably dangerous. That's what happened to Andersonville's Swedish American Museum, though. The iconic water tower above it, painted with the Swedish flag, had frozen solid—the result of the uncommonly harsh winter and the failure of a heating mechanism—damaging the bands that held it together. When the thaw started to melt the ice, the water began leaking into the Museum. At great cost and emotional strain, the Museum had the tower removed on Thursday, March 20—but the staff aren't the only ones pained at its loss. The yellow cross of Sweden's flag long stood as "a treasured symbol of the Andersonville community," Alderman Harry Osterman said.

The Campaign: Restoring the Andersonville Water Tower

All donations to this Grassroots campaign will be used by the Swedish American Museum to restore Andersonville's historic Swedish landmark. Every $10, $25, or $50 raised will be put toward the reinstallation of the Andersonville water tower or the creation of a new iconic landmark that honors Andersonville's Swedish heritage. In the past, similar projects have cost upwards of $200,000.