A century-old bell tower at the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse that was destroyed by the January storms is finally being repaired — with its original bricks
The lighthouse in Bristol was commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1827. The fog bell in the tower nearby was built in 1897 by Henry Hooper, Paul Revere’s apprentice, according to Shelley Gallagher, Bristol Parks and Recreation beach manager. It had been standing ever since, until the storms in January took out two of the bell tower’s brick walls.
The bell itself was fine, chained to the floor. But other parts of the park were damaged, too, including siding and water damage on the lightkeeper’s house. The back-to-back storms caused about $70 million in damages statewide.
“This storm hit the town hard,” Gallagher said.
Now, the parks and recreation department is fixing up the lighthouse and bell tower. Since the bell tower is on the National Historic Register, the department wanted to make sure its repair was as authentic as possible. Not including repairs done by the staff, it’ll cost between $250,000 and $300,000.
Bristol contracted with stonemason Larry Luce, who helped restore the Beech Nut hut in Rockport.
Luce trucked out all the bricks he could salvage, cleaned them, and is going to start laying them around the bell tower’s frame on Tuesday, he said. He was able to salvage about half of the original bricks, and the other half will come from a stonemason who has bricks from the same period.
But as storms like the ones in January become more common due to climate change, Luce is having to make sure the bell tower can survive future beatings from the ocean. He said along with the bricks, he’s going to install stainless steel rods to hold the roof of the tower down and fiberglass rebar and stainless steel to hold the walls together.
“Hopefully that helps,” Luce said. “I don’t know if anything could protect against that kind of storm, though.”
The work should take him about two months to complete, Luce said, and expects it to be done around the end of July.
Gallagher said the parks and recreation department has received a lot of donations for the repair. The bell tower is roped off, and staff members are still reconstructing fences and other parts of the park.
“It’s a construction zone at one of the most famous lighthouses in the state,” she said.
The public can still visit. The heat wave this week brought plenty of visitors to the beach, and some people still had their weddings at the lighthouse, even with the construction.
