Pemaquid Point Lighthouse overlooks the bell house construction site on Thursday, June 27. In addition to repairs to the bell house, the eastern wall of the building attached to the lighthouse had its siding replaced and the white picket fence was recemented after sustaining damage in severe twin storms in January. (Johnathan Riley photo)
After months of repairs from January storm damage, the last repairs to the historic bell house at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park in Bristol began on Wednesday, June 26 when contractors laid the first bricks in the new walls of the building.
Bristol Parks Director Shelley Gallagher said it has been a long road to fix everything that was damaged in the storms, but seeing the last of the repairs begin with the bell house brings a lot of joy.
“I am so excited,” Gallagher said. “The bricks are kind of a big thing. As soon as we start seeing them, it’s like, okay, that’s kind of the final part of it, and then we will get the windows and the roof done.”
Storms on Jan. 10 and 13 brought sustained winds and record storm surge to the coast of Maine.
During the first storm the bell house had its eastern, ocean-facing wall knocked in by a wave that struck overnight, according to Gallagher.
In a January interview, Gallagher said it’s possible the wave hit during one of two notable gusts of 70 mph winds that occurred between 4-5 a.m., on Jan. 10.
During the same storm, fencing on the south side of the building connected to the lighthouse, was yanked up by waves and wind with their cement anchors still attached, and thrown against the building, damaging the outside.
D&D Construction Inc., in Warren, the same company that shingled the bell tower in November, began repairing the siding in April 15 and completed in a couple of weeks. The $80,000 to $90,000 project, according to Gallagher, included the replacement of a door where water was coming in and resealing the windows.
The fencing was repaired in mid-June by Bristol Parks employee Steve Hendricks to minimize project expenses, according to Gallagher, who said the cost of all project repairs is coming out of the Bristol Parks budget.
The bell house sits on the edge of the coast at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park in Bristol on Thursday, June 27. The historical structure had its eastern, ocean-facing wall knocked in by a wave that struck during the first of back-to-back January storms. (Johnathan Riley photo)
“The fact that that they came up with the cement block and got thrown that far,” Gallagher said, “these things are not lightweight.”
The bell house is being repaired by Larry Luce Masonry in Union. Gallagher said that as early as April the company was putting up supports on the building to prevent further damage from inclement weather.
The company started removing bricks from the original structure in early June to clean off the cement to repurpose them for the new wall. The company elected to fix the bricks at their workshop in Warren to minimize distractions from onlookers on sight, according to Gallagher.
“There are just so many people who are interested in the work,” she said.
Larry Luce, owner of Larry Luce Masonry, said that the company was able to salvage about two thirds of the bricks needed to rebuild the structure’s walls. He estimated about 5,000 bricks will be needed in total to finish rebuilding.
Gallagher said repairs to the building’s walls, windows, and roof, will cost approximately $150,000, but some work bids she received were upward of $750,000.
While she recognizes that in business it’s important to make money, Gallagher said the contractors who took the job felt that part of the payment was coming from helping restore history on Maine’s coastline.
“Obviously it’s a business and we respect that, but for them a big part of it is bringing history back,” she said.
The bell house was originally built in 1897 on the south side of the lighthouse to accommodate a hand-operated fog bell. The bell was used by lighthouse keepers in weather with poor visibility to alert mariners of the shore, according to Gallagher.
The white weight tower and the roof of the bell house were badly damaged in storms in April 1991. However, when Hurricane Bob hit the coast of Maine in August of that same year, the tower and bell house were completely destroyed. Both structures were rebuilt in 1992.
Gallagher said she’s hoping that the repairs to the bell house will be completed by the end of July or the beginning of August. Once it’s done, she’ll organize a ceremony to rehang the 1,200-1,500 pound bell, which wasn’t damaged in the storm.
To learn more about Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park and the other properties the Bristol Parks Department oversees, go to bristolmaine.org/home/parks-recreation; visit Ellingwood Information Center, at 1180 Bristol Road, daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; call 563-1800; or email bristolparks@tidewater.net.
The first bricks laid in the rebuilding of the walls of the bell house in Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park in Bristol on Thursday, June 27. According to Bristol Parks Director Shelley Gallagher, the bell house should be completed by the end of July or the beginning of August. (Johnathan Riley photo)
