The story of the Harbin Park water tower in Fairfield is one of those rare urban legends that is actually based on something that really happened. On the night of May 18, 1991, 18 year old Joshua Paul Trovillo was killed when he fell 100 feet from the ladder on the tower. According to legend, some nights, you can hear him scream, just like the night he fell. There’s also been sightings of apparitions around the water tower.

Since the accident, the city has put a larger fence around the tower, so don’t bother trying to climb it. And since the park closes at sundown, you’re not going to be able to hang out and listen for phantom screams. There have been reports of coyote in the area at times, I guess it’s possible people head them and somehow translated that into someone screaming. More than likely this is just a story that grew from re-telling’s of the accident.

Directions

Harbin Park is located at 1300 Hunter Road in Fairfield.  Take I-275 to US 127 North, then left on Hunter