Clapp Pear in Edward Everett Square/ Source: Carolyn Kraut
In my travels I've passed many a town square graced with a statue or plaque to commemorate a person or event. Sometime last year I drove through Edward Everett Square in Dorchester and saw a bronze sculpture that looked like a pear. I didn't believe my eyes because it seemed like an odd choice for a public square. Having had only a fleeting glimpse as I drove by I decided it must really be something else. After several drive bys I was finally convinced it really was a pear. In fact its an 11 1/2 foot bronze rendition of a Clapp Pear.
The pear sculpture was commissioned as part of the Edward Everett Square redevelopment project and commemorates a time gone by when Dorchester was populated with farms, of which the Clapp Farm was one. This 300 acre farm began in 1633 and was passed down to subsequent generations of Clapp family members. By 1810 a portion of the land had been cultivated as a fruit orchard which included apple and pear trees. In 1840 Thaddeus Clapp exhibited the Clapp's Favorite Pear at the Horticultural Society Exhibition.
The Clapp Pear is a hybridization of a Flemish Beauty pear and a Barlett pear. It bears the shape of a Bartlett pear and its skin is greenish yellow with a bit of red, like that of the Flemish Beauty. It is an early ripening pear, available in mid to late August.
Comments
That made me chuckle. Cute,thanks Carolyn. I don't think they can forget about their farming heritage with that thing in the middle of town.
Farms in Dorchester! I love the idea of growing Clapp pears again in this area - one in my yard and one in the neighbor's so they can pollonize.
Looks like a pear by Dr. Seuss -
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