Just days after Source reported on what happened to some of the remains of the Hesper and Luther Little, the two four-masted schooners that once were a Wiscasset landmark, a local artist has erected a waterfront tribute to the ships in the form of a large public water fountain.

Nick Dalton, 35, had been considering creating a water fountain installation in a gallery setting when he won a Kindling Fund grant through SPACE Gallery in Portland. He used the grant to create an outdoor public sculpture 26 feet long by 6 feet wide honoring the Hesper, which languished in the Sheepscot River for more than six decades before falling apart in a storm.

The sculpture uses insulated water pipes covered in white pvc to spell out “Hesper.” The drinking fountain is located at the end of the letter “R.” Dalton, who grew up in Wiscasset, also installed solar LED lights so the sculpture can be seen at night from U.S. Route 1. The official opening of the installation will be held June 29, and it will be on display until October. Dalton, an art school graduate, restores paintings and frames artwork at Fogg Art Restoration in Wiscasset. This is his first foray into public art. He said he chose the schooners as a topic “just because they were such a huge part of the town’s identity for so long.