CAMDEN — It was cold and blustery Sunday, Oct. 23 at the top of Mt. Battie, but that did not stop a crowd of people from attending a re-dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Mt. Battie Tower, provided for by the Friends of Mt. Battie Committee. Grey and formidable was the view across the harbor, but spirits ran high and couldn’t suppress the smiles of the friends who gathered to see their restoration project officially completed.

Randy Stearns, chairman of the Friends committee, said it felt great to be almost at the end.

"It feels great to be at this point," he said. "Now we get to recognize the community for what it is. We gave the state a little over $67,000 this spring and they had donated another $10,000 and we've used all of that for restoration."

The stairs are the original stairs, but the handrail has been replaced according to Stearns.

The entire stone and block tower has also been repointed. Repointing is a process of renewing the external part of mortar joints. Over time, weathering can cause voids in the joint, and through frost and salt can cause significant damage to the joints.

Stearns said the entire tower was sealed and although it has a new surface, if you look closely you can still see all the old names that had been carved into the concrete.

"We saved as much of the historic aspect that we could," he said. "I think that Tito Masonry out of Portland has done a great job."

As of Sunday afternoon’s re-dedication, the Tower Project remained $3,000 short of its goal of $100,000.

"We are not done fundraising yet," said Stearns. "We made a commitment to the community and we are going to stick to it to the end. I think $3,000, we should be able to do at Christmas by the Sea. We hope to have another Christmas ornament this year to sell and with that we should be able to go over the top.”

At the ceremony The Friends of Mt. Battie Tower also donated two generators to use to light the star that is placed annually on the tower and lit every night from dusk on Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Eve, until the generator’s tank of gasoline runs out sometime early in the morning on New Year’s Day.

The Friends also donated $1,000 to Camden Hills State Park for their efforts in keeping the auto road passable for access during the winter months.

"The $1,000 is a way to say thank you to the park for what they do for us," said Stearns.

Friends of Mt. Battie Tower Committee treasurer and historian Heather Moran gave an account of the history of the tower.

"Originally on this site was an Inn called the Summit House in 1899," she said. "It was a popular destination for summer visitors who would come up the mountain to escape the heat and the industrial harbor."

Moran said the Inn fell into disrepair and a group of people formed the Mt. Battie Association to preserve the 60 acres atop the mountain.

"At the end of World War I they decided to build a tower out of the rubble of the derelict Summit House," she said. "These stones you see here in the tower are actually stones from the foundation of the Summit House."

Moran said the tower was designed by the architect of the Camden Public Library, Parker Morse Hooper.

"It was modeled after the Stone Tower in Rhode Island," she said. "The purpose for building the tower was a very special one. It was the end of World War I and Camden-Rockport had over 130 men go overseas to fight and some did not come back home. The tower was conceived as a way to honor the men who died, but also to honor the families who were on the home-front and keeping the home fires burning while that terrible war was going on."

The Mt. Battie Tower ceremony was held as a celebration of the restoration work, and also as a re-dedication of the tower and its purpose to serve as a memorial to World War I.