Since before the Civil War, a clock has ticked away in the tower of the First Parish Church at the corner of School and Church streets in Gorham.

But the clock has repeatedly stopped ticking this year, and the Gorham Town Council was expected to consider whether the town should pay for repairs at a meeting last night, after the American Journal’s press time.

Bob Burns, director of public works, said the clock began “acting up” in January. He said it runs only a few hours after its weekly winding, which is still done with a hand crank.

Balzer Family Clock Works of Freeport has given the town an estimate of $38,050 to remove, rebuild and reinstall works of the historic clock. Burns said Balzer has repaired an identical clock in Concord, N.H. “They travel the world doing antique clock restorations,” Burns said.

Burns said the clock, No. 44, was manufactured by E. Howard Tower Clocks. “It’s an antique,” Burns said. “It’s a neat piece of history.”

The clock was a gift to the town by a long-ago resident and church moderator, Toppan Robie. His son, Frederick Robie, became a Maine governor. “It’s worth in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Burns said.

Town Councilor Phil Dugas is quite familiar with the clock. He once climbed the tower stairs in the church to wind the clock each week for more than a decade. Dugas thought the gears in the clockworks are the problem. The clock, which has four faces, is powered by a box of bricks that travels inside a shaft.

Winding the clock in recent times has been a family duty for Dugas. His son, Greg Dugas, succeeded him, and now, after 10 years, Phil’s grandson, Phillip Bryson, 18, a Gorham High School graduate this year, winds the clock.

Phil Dugas was optimistic that the council would approve the repair work. “I can’t see them not repairing it,” Dugas said.