This summer, the 1897 stone arch at Damariscotta’s Walpole Cemetery could get its first repairs since the 1940s.

A previous try at grant money failed; but the town has $20,000 from capital reserves for the project, and could soon be seeking bids on the work.

“The arch and the wall have been deteriorating,” Town Manager Matt Lutkus said in a telephone interview Jan. 13.

“It’s a historical structure and we want to make sure it remains safe and it doesn’t collapse,” Lutkus said.

The job will include a partial rebuild of the wall, installing ties, stabilizing the arch base and re-pointing masonry, according to a draft of the bid request.

Selectmen were set to consider approving the draft Jan. 20, with changes that involve insurance and a meeting for prospective bidders.

In notes to the board, Lutkus has recommended approval. That would set off a timetable with bids due Feb. 18, an anticipated award of the work Feb. 26, a May 1 project start, and completion by Aug. 31.

A keystone on the arch states that Capt. Thos. J. Woodward erected it in 1897, in tribute to the memory of his parents, John and Betsey Woodward. 

The arch and wall have seen little work in the last century, but some documentation indicates masonry work in 1909 and 1948, Lutkus tells the board.

Visiting the site at the town’s request in 2013, the Camden engineering and surveying firm of Gartley & Dorsky found multiple spots where water was entering wall joints.

“Moving water will erode the mortar and speed degradation; freeze/thaw effects in winter can cause severe damage,” the firm states in a Sept. 30, 2013 letter to the town.

There are no plans to realign the arch; however, an engineer has recommended monitoring it for signs of movement. “The town is very fortunate that Mark Daiute of True North Surveying Services in Newcastle has agreed to perform this work at no cost to the town,” Lutkus writes.

The cemetery on Bristol Road is one of three town-owned ones. The others are Bethlehem Cemetery on Back Meadow Road and Hillside on Church Street.