Standing in the belfry, a Keeley Crane worker loops a strap around the rack that will be used to lift and remove its roof Friday at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Standing in the belfry, a Keeley Crane worker chainsaws through one of the pillars Friday at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Standing on the ground, Keeley Crane workers guide the belfry roof onto a trailer as a crane lifts the structure Friday at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle.

The bell is lowered by a crane Friday at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. Officials have raised $100,000 so far to restore the belfry that houses it, according to spokesperson Jenny Mahyer.

A close-up view of the Lincoln Academy bell after it was lowered to the ground Friday at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. Upon removing the bell from the tower, school officials discovered it was cast in Boston in 1854 at a foundry run by Henry Hooper, an apprentice of Paul Revere.