Aging N.E. church steeples crumbling

PORTLAND – Wooden steeples on many aging churches across New England are facing a similar fate: They are crumbling.

The First Congregational Church of East Machias is 170 years old. Now its 125-foot steeple needs to be restored, and the estimated cost is $180,000.

In New Hampshire, the 151-year-old North Church in Portsmouth’s Market Square got a new spire in July, but the restored steeple collapsed during a thunderstorm later the same month.

In Yarmouth, the 45-foot spire on the First Universalist Church on Main Street was removed out of fear it would not survive hurricane winds if they hit.

The old wooden spire, which has been a landmark since the Civil War era, was put into a crate, where it will stay until $330,000 is raised to restore it. About 150 people watched last Wednesday as a tall crane removed the pointed structure.

The 150 members of the church’s congregation plan to raise $230,000 themselves, and hope the remaining $100,000 can be raised through grants and community contributions.

Deborah Andrews, a Maine Preservation trustee, said many congregations lack the means and the will to save their aging steeples.

“I for one applaud their sense of stewardship,” Andrews said, referring to the Yarmouth church’s congregation.

Maine Preservation, an organization dedicated to preserving the state’s architectural heritage, is paying increased attention to steeples and towers to address an increasing number of threatened public buildings with those prominent architectural features.

A Boothbay company, Mid-Maine Restoration Inc., specializes in painting, repairing and replacing steeples. Its Web site lists numerous projects it has completed in Maine and New Hampshire.

Years of water damage have rotted some of the eight wooden columns that keep the Yarmouth church’s entire tower and spire stable.