In the run up to Independence Day, residents of Huntsville spent time painting patriotic works of art on the vast majority of the city’s fire hydrants.

Huntsville Mayor Richard Sorensen told the Standard-Examiner that the project was inspired by a similar community activity that took place during America’s Bicentennial in 1976.

“I wanted to do something special for America250,” he said. “I remember when I was a young child growing up in Huntsville, our mayor at the time, Sterling Wood, had a similar project. And back then, we probably only had a handful of hydrants, but he had all those painted. We probably have three or four times that many hydrants today.”

He said that, as of this week, 48 hydrants have been painted throughout the town, but weeks ago, it seemed like this number would be a tall order.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

“Early on — probably six, seven weeks ago when we first came up with the idea — we put out a webpage and a sign-up page, and we only had about five people sign up, and I was actually one of those five,” he said. “And so I was kind of concerned that it was going to be a big flop.”

However, entries began to pick up.

“The second week of June, I was on vacation for about a week, and I didn’t check my Google Forms for a week, and I came back and 12 more people had signed up in the meantime,” he said. “So it got very popular once people started painting them and started seeing what their neighbors were doing.”

According to a press release on the Huntsville hydrant painting initiative, “the hydrants feature an impressive variety of patriotic artwork, including bald eagles, Uncle Sam, fireworks, military tributes, stars and stripes, historical scenes, western heritage, and imaginative Americana-inspired designs. The collection has transformed Huntsville into one of Utah’s most unique America 250 celebrations, attracting residents and visitors who are touring town to admire the artwork.”

The event was also turned into a contest with a panel of community judges selecting winners in several categories, including Best Overall, Most Patriotic, Best Historical Theme, Most Creative, Best Family Entry and Best Youth Entry during the town’s Independence Day celebrations.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

Among those who painted hydrants in Huntsville was Sierra Hadfield, who told the Standard-Examiner it was a chance meeting with the mayor’s family that helped her get involved.

“I ended up running into our mayor’s family at our local Sno Shack, and with them knowing I’m an artist, his daughter asked if I would participate,” she said. “So I told her, ‘Of course, I would.’ And at that time, not many people were signed up. So I told them if they need me to paint more than one, I’m more than happy to do so.”

Hadfield, who noted she’s dabbled in art forms from painting to jewelry making ever since she was a little girl, ultimately did end up taking on two of the town’s fire hydrants.

“One was of kids running around a fire hydrant with sparklers and fireworks above them,” she said. “And then I did another one with an eagle on the front and a 250 above that in honor of the 250th anniversary.”

She said painting the hydrants took around 8-10 hours of work each.

Photo supplied, Sierra Hadfield

“Because the paint being an exterior paint for longevity — for the hopes of them still being fresh for years to come — it took multiple layers to get the colors to look vibrant,” she said.

Hadfield said it’s exciting to see the creativity that the town has shown.

“It has blown my mind,” she said. “I expected hydrants to have a lot of red, white and blue, but I never thought that people would be drawing characters on hydrants. We have Uncle Sam and Captain America and a Minion. People really elevated this project, and it’s so fun to go around town and look at all the hydrants that they’re not just plain red or whatever color city decides, but they are literal works of art around our town that everyone has blown my mind with what they’ve done with them.”

Sorensen said he is really happy with how the project turned out.

“It was better than I ever expected,” he said. “It turned out to be a great community project that brought the community together, and I’ve seen families going on bike trips around the town looking at all the different hydrants and riding their golf carts and it’s been a really great experience.”

Photo supplied, Sierra Hadfield

While the contest may be over, Sorensen said there are still 10-12 hydrants around Huntsville that haven’t been painted yet in town and that individuals are still free to sign up to paint the remainder. For more information, including a map of painted hydrants, visit https://huntsvilleutah.gov/hydrants.