The first phase of repairs to the cell block of the Lincoln County Museum and Old Jail were completed this past week.

The building that served as Lincoln County’s prison for over 200 years is located on Federal Street, Wiscasset. It’s owned and maintained by the Lincoln County Historical Association, a nonprofit.

LCHA President Ed Kavanagh said the repair work was outside the building on the gable end that faces the river. The work involved removing four weather-damaged windows, and then insulating and enclosing the area with new cedar clapboard. The project wasn’t without its challenges, he added.

“Anytime you’re dealing with an older building, you never know what you’ll run into,” Kavanagh said. Such was the case when the contractor Ronn Stead of Westport and his crew commenced the job.

The first problem was figuring a way to work safely at a height of more than 25 feet. Scaffolding was ruled out in favor of a lift that Stead rented from Ames True Value of Wiscasset.

“It worked out beautifully for them to work from,” Kavanagh said. “It eliminated the cost of both renting scaffolding and a day’s labor of having to set it up and take it down.”

Enclosing the area after the windows were removed was challenging as well. Stead had to work around iron bars once used to prevent prisoners from escaping.

The new clapboard was hung with its rough side out to allow the stain to adhere better to the surface and give a more authentic look. The stain used was Nantucket gray.

Kavanagh said a louver vent was added to improve ventilation. People might notice that it’s slightly off center. That’s because the contractor had to contend with a support beam that was in the way.

“The louver will have a thermostatically controlled fan that will vent the heat that builds up during the summer,” added Kavanagh. It will also help with a recurring moisture problem. This area, closed to the public, is where the museum stores its archives.

The repairs cost approximately $5,000. They were paid for through a fundraising effort by LCHA members, including profits from a recently held yard sale.

Kavanagh said phase two of the cell block’s repairs involves repointing the mortar around the granite blocks. Moisture has seeped between the stones over the years where it’s frozen in cold weather gradually pushing the slabs outward.

“The blocks are actually layers of granite. In places these slabs have come apart,” explained Kavanagh. He said LCHA is considering two options. One estimated at $18,000 would address only the mostly severely damaged areas. The other involves repairing the entire cell block estimated at $40,000.

“We hope to get going in the fall,” Kavanagh continued. “The problem is funding, at this point we don’t have enough money to do the entire job.”

The Old Jail’s cell block was last repaired in the 1980s when the cell block was taken down and reassembled.