Mystery weather vane. Photo: dotCANTON
After wondering for a while about the weather vane atop The First Congregational Church of Canton Center, dotCANTON finally decided to take that curiosity to someone who certainly would have the answers.
What is the weather vane supposed to represent? What is the significance of its design? Who made it? When was it installed?
Certainly retired physician Lawrence Carlton, a noted area historian and a member of the Canton Center church, would know. Certainly Dr. Carlton would be able to provide some fascinating insights. Right?
Wrong. Carlton doesn’t have a clue. “There’s nothing in (the church’s) records of when it was acquired or the significance of it,” said Carlton, a resident of Simsbury.
Carlton certainly has wondered about the weather vane himself, but beyond saying that wind gauges were once quite common, he has little information to share about this one.
From the ground and to the naked eye, the weather vane might resemble a rake or some kind of agricultural tool, which seems like a logical bit of imagination given the area’s farming past.
Magnified, as in the photo above, it more easily could be interpreted as a shooting star, a notion Carlton seems to favor.
“We’ve never taken it down in the time I’ve been here,” added Carlton, who said he moved to the area in 1954.
Carlton said the church that occupies the site at 184 Cherry Brook Road was built in 1814, replacing one that had been constructed in 1763.
He didn’t rule out the possibility of more information coming to light about the weather vane at some point. But for now, this will have to remain one of history’s mysteries.
– dotCANTON
