For years, generations of Westbrook residents have believed that a small bronze statue of a boy and his dog by the Presumpscot River honored the memory of a drowned child and his pet.

A recent motion by the City Council to refurbish the bronze sculpture has brought the story surrounding it to light, and revealed it as an urban legend.

The council is considering restoring the sculpture to its original luster and repairing its fountain. It is also considering moving it from its spot along the Riverfront Trail behind the Fraser Field backstop to a place in front of the Warren Memorial Library.

In a 5 to 1 vote in committee last week, councilors pushed the issue through to the full council for later consideration.

“I’m very excited about renovating it and making it accessible,” said Councilor Drew Gattine. “It would be great to have it out where people can see it (in front of the Warren Library). On the other hand, if it was placed there by the river for a reason, there’s a certain charm to that.”

According to Caren Michel, a director of both the Cornelia Warren Community Association and the Warren Memorial Foundation, the idea is to move the sculpture to the front of the Warren Library where it can be seen from Main Street. There it would be restored with money from the Warren Association and in-kind services donated by the city, and the fountain that hasn’t worked for decades could be repaired.

“I think the arts movement in Westbrook is very exciting,” said Michel, an artist herself. “Moving the sculpture to the front of the library is part of that movement. It’s great to highlight it. The mission of the library is to support fine arts and education. It’s a perfect fit.”

Councilor John O’Hara did not agree with the plan to move the statue. “There was a reason it was put there. Shouldn’t we honor the person who donated it to the community?” he asked. “I have a strong desire against moving it because we must be careful when moving a public piece from public land to private land. Also, no one can tell me why exactly it was placed there.” O’Hara said he feels that the mystery surrounding the sculpture is evidence of how little is actually known about it.

According to Bob Barton of the Westbrook Historical Society, his mother told him the story of the drowned boy when he was a boy himself. “She was born in 1902. She said it happened some time around the turn of the century,” he said. “My mother was quite certain that it happened. He drowned in the river, and that was his dog. I think he drowned in that vicinity.”

Records at the Sappi mill tell a different story of the sculpture, however. A short article written in 1950 by Nancy Lane Hyde, widow of Rudolph Greep, a former mill manager, maintains that the sculpture was created at the request of Cornelia Warren for a memorial fountain for the park. The article said Bashka Paeff, an artist friend of Cornelia, was enamored with the young John E. Warren and chose him as the subject of the sculpture.

However, Vaughn Born of the Westbrook Historical Society doesn’t believe this story, either. She said this was a tale told by Hyde to children about the sculpture.

“The way it was written and the way she expressed it, it sounds like the story of a little boy who died,” said Born. “Not so. I think her story was a fantasy.”

In fact, John E. Warren, nephew of S.D. Warren who died in 1915, lived to the age of 75, according to his 1915 obituary in a Portland paper. He served in the Civil War and was even a prisoner at the infamous Andersonville, Georgia prisoner of war camp, which he wrote about in an article published in the Atlantic magazine in 1958 titled “Release from the Bull Pen-Andersonville, 1864.”

A May 29, 1921, Portland Sunday Telegram article supports Born’s theory. The article recounts the dedication ceremony of the sculpture and quotes Gov. Percival Baxter, who gave a speech honoring his friend Warren. “There was never a man more unselfish, more conscientious, or more courageous in his public service than Mr. Warren,” said Baxter. “He left an indelible impress upon this community, and as long as I live I shall never come to Westbrook or pass through its streets without thinking of him.”

According to the article, the sculpture was modeled after Mortimer Warren, Jr., Warren’s grandson. The article also states that the pool at the bottom of the fountain was designed for “the comfort of our four-footed friends, whose appreciation is typified by the dog lying with his nose at the edge.” Michel said that the pool was not for dogs and that the fountain was decorative.

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