The rust is gone, the leaks are patched and the conservation is complete and on Tuesday citizens will have the opportunity to get the first official look at the historic Robert Anderson Fountain during a 5 p.m. ceremony at the Anderson County Museum.The restored 1906 Robert Anderson Fountain looks great.

The only thing left to complete the fountain is the restoration of one of the three cherubs. That little angel is expected to be back in place by September. 

The fountain, built in 1906, was a mainstay on the county square in downtown Anderson for decades and was moved into storage and nearly lost when the "new" courthouse was built in 1993. From there, the fountain's journey grows a bit hazy. For a while it may have been in storage, but some reports say most of the disassembled pieces of the fountain were discovered in a field and then moved to the museum.  

Last year, the Warren Lasch Conservation Center at the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston, the group that restored the Civil War-era submarine the Hunley, took on the process of restoring the fountain to its original glory.

Named for Revolutionary War Colonel and State Militia General Robert Anderson, the Civic Association of Anderson, led by President Pearl Fant, organized the effort to have the fountain created. The designers of the piece were T. A. Wigington and C. C. Cole. 

Parts of the fountain were constructed in Anderson by the Anderson Foundry and Steel Company while the Cherubs were ordered from a company in New York. Minus the water basin, the fountain weighs in at about 5,500 pounds and is just over 16-feet tall. According to the musuem, the fountain is considered one of the first outdoor sculptures in the world to have underwater lighting.