WATERTOWN — The Moses Eames Memorial Fountain was donated to the city in 1906 by Sarah Woodruff Flower. She was the widow of former Gov. Roswell P. Flower, and mother of Emma Flower Taylor, patron of Watertown’s Flower Memorial Library.
The fountain was erected on the west end of Public Square, replacing an iron tub that held water for horses. The original tub had been donated to the city by Watertown pioneer Moses Eames in the early years of the city’s development.
The new fountain included areas accessible for horses, dogs and people who were in need of refreshment.
Around the white marble shaft of the fountain was a band of bronze that told the story in the following inscription: “To supply the larger needs of a growing community, and to perpetuate the gracious and kindly forethought of Moses Eames, this fountain has been presented by Mrs. Roswell P. Flower to the City of Watertown, A.D., 1906.”
After only 34 years, the fountain was removed in 1940 to help accommodate the flow of traffic through the Square and was taken to Thompson Park where it laid in pieces and, over time, was ultimately forgotten.
In 1968, the Centennial Historical Committee located the fountain pieces with the consideration of reassembling the fountain in a new location in Watertown, but it never came to fruition.
I was told that one can still find the forgotten pieces in the park near the zoo, but unfortunately I have not been able to locate them as of yet. When, or if I do, I will share an upd
