Saving Time

Downtown Landmark Requires Extensive, Costly Restoration

By Kate McDermott

Photography by Turner Photography Studio

For more than two centuries, the golden roman numerals and elegant hands of the “town clock” in the steeple of Trinity Chapel have helped generations of Fredericktonians keep time, reminding them if they were running late for church or, perhaps worse for younger people, breaking curfew. 

But now time itself has taken its toll on the spire at 10 W. Church St. in which the clock sits. Without major restoration work, the 261-year-old Trinity Church steeple may have to be condemned, the clock removed and the tower capped. 

The steeple, one of Frederick’s iconic “Clustered Spires,” belongs to Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ. But the clock belongs to, and is maintained by, the city of Frederick government. 

“Technically, the clock belongs to the city and the tower is owned by the church,” explains David Cooney, who is chairing the clock tower restoration efforts for the church. “But all together, they belong to the city. That’s why we hope the community will join us in our efforts to save it.”

“Now is the time” 

Trinity Chapel is a Frederick landmark that dates back to 1763. Peter Brehm, president of Evangelical Reformed’s leadership consistory, says church records indicate that in 1793 citizens of Frederick contributed $800 (equivalent to more than $25,000 today) to fund a clock that was created by local clockmaker Frederick Heisely and installed in the steeple.

The clock kept time for the next 140 years before its original works were replaced and found a home in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. According to the Smithsonian, museum builders “prepared a pit between the first floor and basement to accommodate the clock’s 14-foot pendulum.” The clockworks were on display from the museum’s opening in 1964 until the 1990s.

In 1807, church congregants added the existing steeple to the chapel’s original stone tower. Since then, the only major work done to the tower was an 1879 restoration and the 1933 replacement of the Heisely clockworks. But now the structure is showing its age: The spire requires new framing and siding; the supports that hold the clock faces in place have deteriorated; the belfry needs new framing and its wood shake shingles have to be replaced; and the four wooden finials at the base of the tower are also in poor condition and will need to be replaced or restored as well.

“Much of the original wood construction, despite being cared for, has encountered so much weather over the years,” says Julie Butler, preservation director for The Durable Restoration Company of Savage, Maryland. “That’s to be expected, though. Church steeples often take much more abuse from wind and rain because they are usually taller than the trees and buildings and don’t have them to serve as a buffer against the elements.”

Durable Restoration will perform the clock tower’s restoration based on the findings of engineers who have inspected the structure. Having completed the restoration of Evangelical Lutheran’s twin spires at 31 E. Church St. and All Saints Episcopal’s steeple at 106 W. Church St., the company is well-versed in the complexities of historic preservation in Frederick.

“Frederick has a very active Historic Preservation Commission and that’s great. [The approval process] can feel daunting to those who aren’t used to it, but we are,” said Butler. “As we have done with other projects, we follow the National Park Service and Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic preservation. The goal is to retain as much of the historic material as we can. And if we can’t, we replace it in kind.”

Having stood for 200-plus years, the Trinity Chapel clock tower is hardly a house of cards. But if one element fails, it could theoretically fold like one. “At this moment in time, nothing has collapsed to the point of complete failure. But there are several indications that we are near that door,” Butler says. “Now is the time to do this before it becomes an irreversible issue. If we don’t, you would lose a lot.”

A Heavy Lift

Given the project’s complexity and the need to use historically accurate materials, the estimated price tag for restoration is a hefty $1 million. Durable Restoration believes that it will take about four to six months to complete the work.

When presented with the final cost for the restoration, Evangelical Reformed congregants had to decide if they were willing and able to take on the project. The answer, according to Cooney, was clear. “The congregation overwhelmingly voted to go forward and raise the money,” he said.

The church’s members have already pledged more than $500,000 toward the restoration, a strong endorsement of their commitment to the project. But recognizing the need for outside support to address the budget shortfall, the restoration committee began searching for other community resources to help make up the difference.

One of the first organizations to step up was the Delaplaine Foundation. The Frederick-based philanthropic organization awarded the church a $25,000 grant in 2021 to begin basic repair work on the steeple’s roof. But pandemic-induced construction material shortages left the church unable to complete the work within the foundation’s required timeline. Worse, a more extensive inspection of the structure revealed the need for significant restoration work not included in the original plans.

“As the delays went on and building and supply costs kept going up and up, we suggested to the church that this project could go beyond their congregation,” says Marlene B. Young, president of Delaplaine Foundation. “The clock tower is a community treasure and has great significance to people in Frederick County, so we extended the timeline for using our $25,000. I then suggested that the church use that money as seed money for setting up a fund at the Community Foundation of Frederick County. They could then invite the community to take ownership of this jewel.”

The result is the new and separate Frederick Historic Clock Tower Preservation Fund at the Community Foundation that ensures that those in the community who wish to support the clock tower’s restoration—but not church activities—can do so with confidence.

Public Support for a Public Asset

Every house of worship that features one (or more) of Frederick’s famous Clustered Spires has faced the costly challenge of preserving these historic treasures that are embraced by the community.

But only one of those church spires hosts a public asset: the city of Frederick’s official town clock.

With that in mind, the Trinity Chapel Clock Tower Restoration Committee asked city leaders if there was a way the city, too, could financially support the project.

“We have an agreement with [Evangelical Reformed] to help maintain the clock, and in our estimation, that includes the structure that holds it,” said Richard Griffin, the city of Frederick’s director of economic development. “But it’s more than that. Our city’s historic spires attract a huge level of interest among visitors, who by last count topped two million a year and bring $500 million annually in spending that supports our Downtown retailers, restaurants and the entire community. So, we believed the city should help support this project.”

With the support of Mayor Michael O’Connor, city officials met with church representatives, as well as with state Del. Kris Fair, who spearheaded an effort to seek state funds to cover some of the cost of the restoration through a Legislative Bond Initiative. The bonds enable local legislators to apply for state funding to support capital-based projects that are important to their communities.

With support from Fair and the other three members of the Frederick County delegation—Sen. Karen Lewis Young, Del. Ken Kerr and Del. Karen Simpson—the city submitted a request to the General Assembly for $250,000 to contribute to the restoration effort. The state ultimately awarded the project $100,000.

State bond funding cannot be used to restore religious institutions, but because the public clock sits inside the church steeple, “We made it very clear that the structural integrity of the clock is impacted by the fact that it sits inside the spire,” Fair says. “They can’t save the clock without repairing the spire. They are one in the same.”

No Time to Waste

Cooney said that representatives from the National Park Service who inspected the clock tower in 2023 were pleased to see that the structure had been so well maintained over the years. But with each passing day, the need to address the wear and deterioration that threaten the steeple’s structural integrity grows greater.

Out of an abundance of caution, the church stopped holding services in Trinity Chapel and asked the numerous community groups who hold meetings in its classrooms to find other temporary quarters.

The chapel’s closure also meant that participants in last December’s annual Candlelight Tour of the Historic Houses of Worship could not make the trek up the narrow stairs to see the steeple’s 10 chime bells being played. But if all goes well, the spire will be back on the tour in 2025.

As of Aug. 1, the restoration campaign has raised nearly $770,000, according to Cooney. This includes congregational donations, the $100,000 bond funding from the state, the $25,000 from Delaplaine Foundation and community contributions of $214,000 to the Frederick Historic Clock Tower Preservation Fund at the Community Foundation.

One of the largest gifts to that fund came from the Frances A. Delaplaine Randall Charitable Trust. Randall was a direct descendant of Johann Thomas Schley, who headed the Trinity Chapel building committee in 1763. “We are sure Franny would have wanted to support this project,” Randall’s descendants wrote in the contribution letter that accompanied the trust’s $25,000 gift.

As word of the clock tower’s potential demise spreads, the restoration committee hopes Fredericktonians will contribute the remaining $180,000, which will bring the total to $950,000. At that point, a challenge grant from the Ausherman Family Foundation will award the final $50,000 needed to reach the $1 million goal.

“The steeples are the skyline of Frederick and are important to our history and heritage,” says Leigh Adams, executive director of the Ausherman Family Foundation. “They are the essence of what puts Frederick on the map and something that generations to come will appreciate.”

As word has spread about the clock tower’s needed repairs, church members say they have been heartened by comments they’ve received from people who have no connection to the church. “I’ve heard things like, ‘My daughter got married there,’ or ‘We’ve got to save it—it can’t go,’” Brehm says. “That kind of affection shows how much the clock tower means to our community.”

But time on the Trinity Chapel clock is ticking—literally and figuratively. “We think it’s a treasure,” said Cooney. “But if you lose a treasure, it’s gone. You don’t get a second chance.”

To contribute to the restoration of the historic clock tower in Trinity Chapel, visit the Community Foundation website frederickcountygives.org and search for the Frederick Historic Clock Tower Preservation Fund.