The Five Corners flower pot sustained damage after it was hit by a car (pieces of which can be seen at left).
The familiar flower pot marking the Five Corners intersection in front of the library was hit by a car on March 23 and is temporarily grounded.
Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy said the accident happened when a car driving south on Bedford Road tried to turn left on Trapelo Road. The car sustained more than $1,000 in damage, necessitating the police report, and several paving stones were also dug up in the crash. No one was injured and no charges were filed.
The town will have the flower pot repaired, but when that will happen is uncertain. “We will try to expedite the repairs as soon as possible, but we will be going through the insurance process, so I’m unsure as to a time schedule,” said Chris Bibbo, superintendent of the Department of Public Works.
The flower pot was installed in 1892 by Henry F. Jenks of Pawtucket, R.I., as a watering trough for horses, according to town historian Jack McLean. “In addition, water would flow over the sides and be caught in a smaller trough around the outer edge of the base, where dogs could also drink. It was hooked up to the town’s water system, with the water coming out of a top section that is no longer present (the street signs that projected above the flower pot stood where the water source was located),” he said in an email.
McLean noted that the town had a second similar watering trough at the intersection of what is now Routes 117 and 126 which is now on the grounds of the Old Town Hall on Lincoln Road, still with its original top section. A third horse-watering trough of a different design still stands at the intersection of Lincoln and Codman Roads.