HOULTON, Maine — For 100 years, the town has served host to a picturesque sculpture with a mysterious background.
Houlton’s Boy with the Leaking Boot, a water fountain featuring a sculpture of a young boy holding a boot with water pouring from it, has been a part of the town’s history since 1916, when it was first placed in Monument Park, near the Cary Memorial Library.
Due to vandalism, the fountain was moved to Pierce Park in the 1980s, near the Houlton Police station, in an effort to deter vandals. It is now taken inside the lobby of the police department during the winter months to escape the damaging effects of ice and snow.
The backstory of the statue is somewhat of a mystery, but thanks to the advent of the Internet it is somewhat easier to track down how many sculptures now exist. The website, Roadside America ( http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/28906) featured an article on the scultpure, stating the original piece was created at J.L. Mott Iron Works in New York. Copies were offered for sale, through the company catalog, starting in 1875 under the original name, “The Unfortunate Boot.”
When Houlton’s statue was placed this spring, water was noticeably absent from the “leaking” boot and drinking fountains located along the base. The Houlton Fire Department spent much of June working on the sculpture to get the water flowing once again.
According to Fire Chief Milton Cone, the complex system underneath the fountain is proving more and more difficult to maintain with each passing year.
“What many people don’t realize is that the delivery system for water for the 10 different points on that statue are all located in an underground compartment underneath the base,” Cone said. “The water comes in and goes into a tube that has 10 different spouts”
The statue features eight drinking fountains, as well as the boot, but there is also a bowl near the base of the statue that serves as a drinking bowl for dogs, Cone explained. Many of those spouts were leaking underneath the base and needed to be replaced.
“The way it is made, it is difficult to get wrenches up underneath it to do any type of work,” Cone said. “Part of the system has galvanized steel, and those froze in the winter and broke. It was difficult to get them out and replace them.”
Some of the nozzles feeding water to the drinking fountain also needed to be replaced, but those parts are no longer made. Thanks to some creative manufacturing, the parts were replaced and water is now once again flowing.
As a cost savings, a sensor was installed so that in the evenings, when it gets dark, the flow of water ceases, Cone said.
The fire department also repainted the base, to give it a more brilliant appearance in time for the busy Fourth of July festivities planned in the town.
“The Boy and the Boot looks absolutely amazing,” said Jane Torres, executive director for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. “They painted it, and it looks really beautiful.”
A Gofundme page (https://www.gofundme.com/qnmcx5uk) was created by Bernie Holmes to raise money for the restoration. As of Monday afternoon, a total of $1,001 has been raised of the $10,000 goal.
