The Village of Roslyn, along with the 1895 Grist Mill Committee, has begun a program of restoring the windows in the Ellen E. Ward Memorial Clock Tower. The oak and pine windows on the 160-year-old structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places have badly deteriorated due to years of moisture infiltration.

Two years ago monies from the 1895 Clock Tower Committee fund-raising activities were used to restore the south facing first floor window. The village has recently secured additional funding from KeySpan Energy Corporation. The east facing second floor window was removed recently and has been meticulously reconstructed by a local millwork shop and will be reinstalled shortly.

The Oyster Sloop Christeen Restoration Corporation in Oyster Bay donated material for the white oak exterior Roman grill and sill. Eastern White Pine for the jambs and interior casings was purchased a few years ago from a speciality lumber supplier in Massachusetts.

The newly restored window will be primed and painted before it is installed. The color will conform to chips on a scientific paint analysis report prepared by Frank Welsh of Bryn Mawr, PA.

The KeySpan money will be used to continue to restore the remaining nine windows in the Clock Tower and to repair the wooden wheel that once allowed the 2,500 pound bell at the top of the tower to be rung manually.

The village is anticipating word shortly from the State of New York regarding a grant application submitted to complete the restoration of the masonry joints on the north and east sides of the tower. Restoration of the south and west sides of the tower were completed in the summer of 1998.

Dr. George Williams, chairman of the 1895 Clock Tower Committee said, "The committee and I are particularly grateful to Mayor Janet Galante for her strong support of the restoration and maintenance of the village's most distinguished landmark and securing a grant from KeySpan to restore the windows." He also praised the work of John Collins, consultant to the Village Historic District Board who wrote the most recent grant application and is supervising the current window restoration project.