In Wiscasset Saturday, a labor of love meant working on a sunny morning inside a cramped, fairly dark space in 20-degree temperatures.

Fortunately, no breeze was blowing and the view from inside Wiscasset’s clock tower was “pretty awesome,” according to builder Jason Putnam. Working alongside him was son Ivan, 16.

Putnam offered to lend his woodworking skills to shore up the clock tower at 25 Fort Hill St. The clock, more than a century old, continues to keep regular time, its bell tolling the correct hour on the hour. Unfortunately, the tower’s condition is another matter.

“One of the main support beams supporting the cupola is in pretty rough shape. It’s got to be replaced,” said Putnam, pausing from passing lumber up through a hatchway to his son.

“It’s a fairly straightforward repair. The most difficult thing about this is getting the lumber and tools up and into the tower. There isn’t a lot of room and we have to work around the rods that drive the hands of the clock,” he continued.

The tower gets narrower the higher you climb. The section where the Putnams are working is directly behind the clock faces in a cramped windowless compartment above the bell. This area supports the tall copper-topped cupola that rises another 15 feet above it. 

“To get light into the area where we’re working we had to open the hatch leading up into the cupola. From up there you’ve got quite a view. You can see all the way up and down the river,” said Putnam.

The building housing the town clock is the tallest one downtown. It was built as a Methodist church in 1818 and later became home to the Bradford-Sortwell-Wright Post 54 of the American Legion. Most people still refer to the building as the Legion hall, although it most recently served as home to an art gallery/cafe. The building is privately owned and for sale; the town owns and maintains the clock and tower.

Last fall, a selectmen-ordered structural analysis revealed repairs were needed within the tower. Putnam offered to take on the project if the town picked up the cost of materials. He restores homes and barns for a living; in 2017, he renovated the historic house next door to the former Legion hall.

After carrying lumber up into the loft, Putnam built a temporary frame to protect the rod arms driving the  clock hands. He said before he could tackle the rotten beam on the tower’s east side he’d have to install a temporary brace. Then he’ll cut out the damaged beam and replace it with a new pressure-treated one. 

“I’m not certain, but I think the beam that rotted was pine. Water’s been getting in from somewhere above.” Putnam finished all of the repairs by 4:30 p.m. 

Ivan Putnam  was pretty excited about helping his dad with the project. Ivan is a sophomore at Wiscasset Middle High School and hopes to apply his work hours towards his community service requirement. 

In a fall 2017 inspection of the tower, Lincoln/Hanley Engineering Associates, Inc. of Brunswick found the damage inside was caused by water leaking from the cupola. 

The tower’s last major restoration was  in the 1980s. The cupola was removed, repaired and re-coppered when the clock was restored in 1993. It was enclosed with glass to keep the elements and pigeons out. Putnam thinks that’s where some of the water is getting in from. Last June voters raised $4,000 for repairs to the town clock. The town office also received a private donation of $1,000.

The tower’s exterior siding and trim need caulking and painting. The four clock faces need attention, too; the one facing Fort Hill Street lost a piece of its molding more than two years ago. This same  face bears the name of  W.H. Clark, the Civil War veteran who gave the town the clock in 1906. Voters accepted it at the 1907 annual town meeting.