Crews keep a close eye on the old mill clock tower as it was being moved to a parking lot at the Lincoln Mill in January 2020. Now that rehabilitation of the mill is complete, the clock tower must be moved – by the end of March, the Friends of the Historic Biddeford Mill Clock Tower say. They hope to have the 1853 clock tower professionally dismantled by a preservationist and stored until it can be reassembled for the community to enjoy. Tammy Wells Photo

BIDDEFORD — Friends of the Historic Biddeford Mill Clock Tower recently got word that the structure must be moved from its present location in a parking lot at the Lincoln Mill.

Early Tuesday, they got word from a preservationist that the cost to professionally dismantle the structure, assess what can be kept and what is not salvageable, take extensive photographs and put together careful instructions for reassembly is $44, 750.

They’ve pledged to forge ahead, said Friends member Cynthia  Howard and do the best they can to find funding for the work, and to find a new location, preferably in Biddeford, where the dismantled clock tower can be stored inside, undercover in a secure location until it can be reassembled.

Time is of the essence. With the Lincoln Mill rehabilitation nearing completion, and a planned grand opening, the Friends of the Historic Biddeford Mill Clock Tower said they have been told the old clock tower must be moved by the end of March.

The mill owners have been gracious, the Friends group noted, and provided valuable assistance, contributing the lion’s share of the $7,200 tab for the initial professional assessment of the clock tower. “We are so appreciative,” Howard said.

The tower was removed from the Lincoln Mill building by the mill’s former owners in 2007, several of the pieces were sold off, and the clock tower itself sat on the ground for several years before it was rescued by volunteers from impending demolition. It was stored in the Pepperell Mill Campus parking lot before the 2020 move to the Lincoln Mill.

The Pepperell Manufacturing Company built the clock tower in 1853, Friends member Louise Merriman said. The clock tower without the bell, clock and weathervane weighs 26,000 pounds.

“It was a magnificent piece of architecture — unique in mill clock towers since it had eight sides,” Merriman said as the tower was being moved in 2020. The clock dials are each seven feet high.

There has been work done on the tower. Dan LeBlond, who remembers the bell tolling the time when he was a small boy, re-built the windows of the clock tower several years ago and removed about 350 pounds of pigeon droppings from inside. He got to ring it, when doing the window work. Back when the mills were operating, ringing the bell was an employee assignment, and names of those who did so were carved or penciled inside the clock tower.

The Friends group engaged Preservation Timber Framing of Berwick to assess the structure and to provide costs of dismantling.

“It is by far the most spectacular clock tower put up by any mill in New England,” said Howard, an architect. “I have photos of 13 other towers, and none of them had (both) a clock and a bell” like the one in Biddeford.

The Friends group plans to seek support from the Biddeford City Council for the dismantling and storage, she said.

“This is a treasure that belongs to the community,” said Howard.

The group is  looking for a secure interior space in Biddeford to house the dismantled clock tower — a space the size  equivalent of two storage pods, she said.

The Friends group hopes that once restored, the historic mill clock tower can be moved to a site at Pearl Point Park, near the RiverWalk.

Now, the immediate challenge is to fund a proper dismantlement and a move to another temporary location until that can be accomplished.

“We’re down to the wire,” said Howard.

“We need a groundswell of support in the next eight weeks, or it’s gone from our history forever,” said Merriman.

Those who wish to help may send checks payable to Heart of Biddeford, with Historic Biddeford Mill Clock Tower in the subject line, at 205 Main St., Suite 103, Biddeford.