PITTSTON -- For the first time in decades, restoration work is under way at the 1765 home of Reuben Colburn, whose aid helped Colonel Benedict Arnold seize Quebec City from the British Army

Tom Desjardin, historian for the state Bureau of Parks & Land, said it's been 30 years since anything has been done to the state's historic site.

He said the caretaker's residence in the ell of the house was gutted and restored with all new walls, floors, fixtures and appliances.

"The barn still needs to be jacked up," Desjardin said. "It has sunk over the years. We need to jack it up two feet and fix the pillars it sits on and replace the sill beams that go around the outside of the structure."

The entire floor of the 19th-century barn has been removed so it can be jacked up.

Inside the main house, he said the brick face of the main fireplace has been removed so a mason could return the fireplace and beehive oven to its original state.

He said all the utility lines necessary for the caretaker's residence will be buried so overhead wires will no longer be visible on the property.

"The Bureau of Parks & Lands got $25,000 from a bond that was designated to the Colburn House," he said. "And the Arnold Exhibition Historical Society donated another $5,000. A lot of nice people also donated items and their time."

He said Reuben Colburn built the house in 1765. Near his home, Colburn built a saw mill, brickyard, boat yard and grist mill to provide settlers with materials.

Desjardin said Colburn was instrumental in planning a Continental Army expedition led by Colonel Benedict Arnold through the Maine wilderness to seize the heavily fortified city of Quebec from the British Army.

Colburn supplied critical information to George Washington and, upon Arnold's arrival, Colburn had 200 wooden boats, known as bateaux, waiting for the solders' expedition.

Desjardin said the Colburn family owned the house until 1941 when they bequeathed it to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. It was later sold to the state.

Prisoners from the Kennebec County jail have been helping out with the upgrades, Desjardin said. "They show up and work like crazy. It's been good to have them."

Gwen Dunbar, secretary of the Pittston Historical Society, said the home needed some loving care. She was especially excited that a birthing room was being restored which will feature an exhibit about midwifery in the 1700s and Maine's most famous midwife, Martha Ballard.

Dunbar praised Desjardin for the attention he has given the historic home.

"I think he's doing a great job," Dunbar said. "This summer when they get it open, it should be beautiful. They've restored the old brick fireplaces with the Dutch oven on the side."

She said the historical society will hold an open house in June and then again in September for Colonial Days.

"We also have tours at the Colburn School just down the street and the cemetery that dates back to the 1700s," she said. "We have sea captains and Revolutionary War and Civil War solders in there. We have 80-some veterans in there from all the wars."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com