This past spring marked the 17th anniversary of Woolwich’s town clock on the municipal building, although the timepiece housed within its tower is nearing its 120th birthday.

How is this possible? To find the answer we need to wind the hands of time back to 1979. That was when an elderly gentleman, Carroll E. Morse of Woolwich, set out on a quest. Morse had longed to find a suitable clock he could restore that might be placed on top of the newly built Woolwich town office and fire station. He had a passion for old timepieces and was a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.

Over the years Morse had compiled an inventory of Maine’s tower clocks that took him all over the state of Maine. His effort didn’t go unnoticed, earning him a brief mention in Tim Sample and Steve Bither’s book “Maine Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities and Other Offbeat Stuff.” This is not to suggest that Morse was in anyway “quirky.” He just had a passion for historic timepieces like the one he found and restored for the town of Woolwich.

Morse must have had an interest in motors and engines from an early age, as he’d earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maine Orono. He worked in the profession for many years, retiring as a mechanical engineer from Central Maine Power Co. in 1982.

He found the tower clock he was looking for in an unlikely place: the basement of the historic Nash School in Augusta.

Nobody knows why the town fathers put a clock on top of their school when it was built at the turn of the century. Maybe so the kids wouldn’t have an excuse for being late for class. More likely it had to do with the school’s namesake, Charles E. Nash, who served as Augusta’s mayor in the 1870s and was later on the city’s school board.

Whatever the reason, the clock became part of the building and the Sewall Street neighborhood where for decades folks looked to it for the time of day. For reasons unknown, the clock was eventually removed from the tower and put into storage in the school’s basement. The tower too, was later taken down, although the building still stands.

Morse, in his sixties then, was overjoyed at finding the clock. He traced its origin to the George M. Stevens Co. of Boston, where it had been manufactured in 1896. That was around the same time the Nash School was built. A closer examination revealed that along with the clock itself, most its parts, including the pendulum rod and its four clock faces, had been saved. Although it was being stored at the school, Morse learned it had actually become the property of the Maine State Museum.

Through his efforts and the blessings of the Woolwich Board of Selectmen at the time, the state agreed to turn the clock over to him with the understanding he would restore it for display on the municipal building. The original agreement, dated April 5, 1979, included the town assuming all expenses for the clock’s cleaning, repair, installation and future maintenance.

Woolwich can keep the clock (technically it’s on loan) so long as it’s “used and maintained.” 

If the town fails to do so, the clock will “revert to the custody of the Maine State Museum.” The agreement also prevents the town from selling or transferring custody of the clock without written permission from the Maine State Museum.

“Fortunately, the lights were green all the way and the selectmen’s request was granted for use of the clock,” wrote Morse in a narrative he compiled for the Woolwich Grange.

Morse spent years restoring the clock at his home. He disassembled and cleaned its vintage motor, repainting its rotating gears and frame in their original colors, red and green. When he needed advice, he called on Freeport clockmaker Rick Balzer of Balzer Family Clock Works.

After finally succeeding in getting the clock running, Morse faced the challenge of building a tower where it could be housed. The tower had to be large enough for someone to get inside to maintain the clock motor, but also had to fit on the roof of the municipal building.

Morse drew up plans for the tower. After those plans were approved by the board of selectmen, he started building the tower inside the firehouse. It was eventually moved outdoors. His son, Elliot Morse, an owner of Morse & Doak Construction in Woolwich, finished the tower. Scott MacKenney, an employee of Morse & Doak at the time, helped build and shingle its peaked roof. After it was finished the clock was moved inside it.

“Dad did all the clock restoration. I think he must have visited every clock tower in the state and photographed most of them,” Elliot Morse recalled. He added that Woolwich’s clock is self-winding; a weight driving the clock gears slowly drops until it reaches a point where it trips an electric motor that automatically lifts it back to the top. Similar tower clocks like the one in Wiscasset have to be wound by hand.

As reported in the Wiscasset Newspaper, it was early on the morning of March 10, 1998, that Reed & Reed Construction used a crane and hoisted the clock tower to the municipal building roof.

Monies needed for the project came from a number of sources, including private donors and fundraising suppers at the Woolwich Grange organized by Marion Chubbuck. The work done by Morse & Doak and Reed & Reed Construction was entirely volunteered.

Carroll Morse wasn’t able to be there when the clock tower was lifted into place, although not long after he made the long climb to the roof and installed the hands on the clock faces.

For the record, Morse was 80 years old when he carried out that bit of business.

Today, Gaius Hennin of the Shelter Institute periodically maintains and sets the clock. This was last done just before the community celebrated Woolwich Day, Aug. 1.

Carroll E. Morse died in February 2006. Although he’s fondly remembered as the “Woolwich Clock Man,” he also served on the Woolwich School Board and was an elder of the Woolwich-Wiscasset Baptist Church. He was the longtime treasurer and secretary of Riverside Cemetery Association in Woolwich and a Scout leader.

Not long after Carroll E. Morse got the Woolwich Town Clock up and running, he gave an interview to a local cable TV channel. You can see and hear the interview below.