One of the only remaining above ground pools in the Midwest could be a step closer to receiving grant money to fund its preservation.
For nearly a century, the Fayette Memorial Pool has offered a summertime escape for generations of families.
The structure was finished on July 4, 1936, and has maintained its original Wesley-Bintz design because it was cheaper to construct an above-ground pool after the Great Depression.
"This pool is one of a kind in the state of Missouri," said Pam Hutsell, the chair of the Fayette Historic Preservation Commission. "It's a National Register property, a local historic landmark, and we're lucky to have it in such excellent shape."
Hutsell said the pool also serves as Howard County’s World War I memorial — a designation born from a decision to use money that had been sitting in the county treasury since 1919. The front entryway stands as a tribute to the soldiers of the Great War.
But age is catching up to the facility, and now, a determined group of residents is leading a charge to revitalize it.
One of them is Ann Schnell, a lifelong Fayette resident who grew up just across the street from the pool. Her grandfather served on the city council when the pool was built, and her passion for the pool runs deep.
“It’s a family tradition,” Schnell said. “I grew up here. It’s the only public pool we have.”
Schnell has been applying to grants to secure funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. After two years of denials, she received hopeful news: This year’s application was returned with a request for revisions — a big step toward potential federal approval.
“I was ecstatic,” Schnell said. “We’d never received a call back to say to revise it.”
The current grant application is aimed at upgrading the rear bathrooms to ADA standards, a critical move to make the pool and park more accessible year-round. The project requires a 50/50 match, and the local group “Friends of the Historic Fayette Memorial Pool” has worked to match that through fundraising.
Schnell and others believe the pool is worth preserving.
"When we light it up at Christmas, it looks like a crown. That’s why we call it the jewel of the park," Schnell said.
With the summer season fast approaching, the pool is set to open once again, just as it has every year since July 4, 1936.
