BIDDEFORD — Thanks to fundraising efforts, the Lincoln clock tower, which many have said is an important part of the city’s cultural and architectural history, will be saved.

After years of contention, the clock tower is set to be moved, tentatively at the end of August.

A mix of old and young worked together to raise about $26,000, which is enough to move the tower from its current, very public location on the property of the Lincoln Mill on Lincoln Street, to a more secluded spot ”“ a parking lot on the property of the Pepperell Mill Campus.

“We’re very excited that it’s going to happen,” said Jeff Cabral, director of the McArthur Public Library and president of the board of the Biddeford Mills Museum.

“There is certainly a segment of people in Biddeford and beyond who think local history is important,” he said.

The saga began about seven years ago when the former owners of the mill removed the 150-year-old clock tower from its perch above the mill building.

Many of the parts of the tower, including the bell and the weathervane, were sold, and the tower has been sitting at its current location ever since.

Without any restorative work being conducted on the tower, it has deteriorated over the years, and people have called it an eyesore.

City officials eventually got involved and, citing code violations, got a court order requiring the removal of the tower from its current location under the penalty of hefty fines.

Last year, mill owner Odyssey Properties, LLC, had rented a Dumpster and was preparing to dismantle and remove the clock tower when industrial historian George Collar and Scott Joslin, COO of the Pepperell Mill Campus, came to the rescue.

Working with Mayor Allan Casavant, they came to an agreement with the mill owners to purchase the tower and move it.

When a May 17 deadline came and went, the group, which had added Biddeford High School students and recent alumni to their supporters, asked city council for an extension.

The council gave them a new deadline of Sept. 2.

To help raise funds, BHS students Alex Morneau and Katie Eccleston created a video that showed the current condition of the clock tower and included interviews of those who believe it’s an important part of the Biddeford’s history.

The video was posted on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

About $6,000 was raised through that forum. Another $10,000 came from the Sam L. Cohen Foundation; Cohen was a Biddeford native. An anonymous donor also gave $10,000 toward the project.

There is still more work to be done to shore up the structure before it is safe to move, said Collard.

But he said, “I’m really glad a few people stepped up and really saw the value of this thing.”

“The fun is just beginning,” said Collard.

Moving the structure is the first phase. The second phase involves raising an estimated $200,000 to $500,000 to conduct more significant restoration work.

The amount of money needed, “depends on the final vision of what it should be,” said Joslin.

Conducting all of the work that is necessary could take two or more years, he said.

Joslin said he hopes that funds can be raised to restore the clock tower to its former glory.

Right now, he’s happy with what has been done so far.

“That clock was headed for the Dumpster,” said Joslin, but now, it has been saved for the future.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].