BRISTOL, Maine — Editor's Note: The video above first aired April 24, 2024.
The old Fog Bell House at Pemaquid Point suffered heavy damage after its wall was ripped open during a gnarly January storm. Now, the bell is back up, signaling progress in restoration efforts.
"Surprise- the bell is hung!!" Bristol Parks and Recreation wrote in a social media post. "We will post more pictures and video later but wanted to at least let everyone know we got it done so you can come down to see it."
The bell house, which sits beside the famous Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, is visited by thousands of people each year, and for generations was a spot where people would shelter from wind while watching surf during a storm.
During the January storm, its front wall and an end wall caved in. Its notable bell, known for hanging outside on the wall facing the ocean, was inside the building underneath a pile of bricks and broken wood.
Wind gusts at Pemaquid Point that day reached up to 68 mph.
Shelley Gallagher with Bristol Parks and Recreation told NEWS CENTER Maine in April that the bell house is expected to look almost exactly the same as it did before once restoration is complete.
"We will be using all of the original bricks as well as others the mason found from the same time period to make up for the bricks that were lost or damaged," Gallagher explained. "The work will be done with the building in place so he will build up the two walls that are missing, then will begin to remove sections at a time and rebuild those sections until all of the walls have been repaired. There are no walls that do not need to be repaired so all of the bricks will be coming out and being redone."
Gallagher added once the brickwork is done, a new beam and the windows, roof, and door will be installed.