Special things need protecting.

The maps, books and other pieces of Lincoln County's past that sit on the third floor of the 1811 Old Jail in Wiscasset do.

Losing them to water damage from a leaky roof would be devastating, Lincoln County Historical Association President Ed Kavanagh said.

But not to worry. The association had roofers out November 15 to start a planned two-day, $7,700 job of replacing all the roof's shingles.

“I'm thrilled to have it being done now, and not have to be worrying about leaks all winter,” Kavanagh said.

He was unsure of the last time the shingles were replaced. The building’s original, wooden ones were followed by slate and then asphalt, which the new ones will also be, he said.

The spent shingles were spotted when the building's chimney was being replaced. “So we figured we'd better get going on it,” Kavanagh said.

It's all part of the substantial maintenance work that comes with owning three very old buildings: the jail on Federal Street that once housed debtors, Civil War dodgers and others; the 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden, where attorney and future second U.S. President John Adams tried a case; and the oldest building in Damariscotta, the 1754 Chapman-Hall House.

“All three of our buildings require an awful lot,” Kavanagh said about the work involved to preserve them.

Grants, county money and association memberships and fundraisers all help fund the projects. Other work this year has included painting the outside of the Pownalborough Courthouse and replacing a pipe to the septic system there; and replacing rotting gutters on the Old Jail's attached, 1839 jailer's house, association officers said.

Augusta's Robin Pelletier, from Fowler's Roofing in Chelsea, previously worked on a project at the Pownalborough Courthouse. The Wiscasset job was a little different, he said in an interview on the jail lawn.

“It's not all the time you're working on a place with bars on the windows.”