The steeple on Damariscotta’s First Baptist church has survived lightning, fierce winds, and fire since it was raised in 1840.
In the end, the 126 foot tall spire was done in, not by outside forces, but by water hidden inside the massive timbers.
By 2005, at least some of the timbers were crumbling, nearly dumping the landmark off its perch into the middle of the intersection of Main Street and Bristol Road.
“In the end, it was like a three legged stool, listing to one side,” said Arron J. Sturgis the president of Preservation Timber Framing Inc.
“I can’t say it would have lasted one more winter or so, but it wouldn’t have lasted forever. Inside the tower, the timbers were rotten and we had to do something,” he said. “Once the water gets in, it is hard to get out.”
Sturgis’ report on the structure convinced church members to raise the funds to repair it. Now the renovation efforts are nearly complete.
The committee has raised nearly all the $500,000 needed to repair the steeple.
In 1884, a group of citizens, helped by the efforts of the minister of the Second Congregational Church, began a fund drive to purchase a clock for the Baptist Church. They raised enough to purchase the clock from George M. Stevens, a Boston clockmaker. The Glidden family financed nearly half the purchase and installation price- $432.37.
The clock is the property of the town. On top of the church, the clock box houses the time keeping mechanism. It is protected from the weather by a roof.
Sturgis said the original workmen who fashioned the original clock tower and steeple were master craftsmen.
“They were a separate trade from the shipwrights who worked in nearby shipyards. These craftsmen were closer to furniture makers than carpenters,” said Sturgis.
Inside the tower, the 900-pound bell, cast in 1846 by G.H. Holbrook foundry in Medway, Mass., rests in a cradle on top of the clock box roof. A steeple, complete with a copper weathervane topped with gold, covers the bell.
“When we got into it, we discovered the weathervane was made from wood. It was probably replaced when earlier repairs were made. We decided to do it over in copper,” he said.
Over the years, probably after a fire triggered by lightning, Sturgis said, repairs were made to the roof.
“They repaired it and calked and tarred the joints, but it started leaking immediately,” he said.
The water soaked into the timbers. Over the years, they rotted.
Sturgis and his crew from Berwick have rebuilt the steeple and hung the bell inside.
Although they had to use new wood for the structure, much of the trim, including the faux columns, was cleaned and repainted. Volunteers painted the unique wooden fish scale shingles lining the steeple.
The clock box roof is now covered with flat soldered copper. The copper flashing is tucked up under the wooden exterior planks.
“It won’t leak,” Sturgis said, patting its shiny surface.
Now, workmen are carefully notching huge spruce and pine timbers from N.C. Hunt Lumber, that will be put together like giant Legos to make up the clock box frame.
Nearby, nestled in a scaffold, the steeple is ready for a final two coats of paint.
On May 18, a giant crane is scheduled to arrive to lift the old clock box off and hoist the new on up in its place. Next step is to put the clock back inside the box.
Then, on June 14, if there is good weather, Sturgis said the crane is scheduled to return to raise the steeple.
