The City of Farmington has removed its historic town whistle from the tower where it has stood for many years, citing serious safety concerns with the deteriorating platform on which it sat, according to a social media post from the city.
The wooden platform holding the whistle had rotted to the point that the whistle was essentially hanging on by a thread, leaving city officials no choice but to remove it. The clock and whistle mechanism itself is also very old, with many of the parts needed to repair it now obsolete and few individuals remaining who know how to fix it.
The city acknowledged the significance of the loss for longtime residents. “We know that whistle was more than just a whistle,” the city wrote. “For many years, it was part of the sound of our little town. It marked time, became part of people’s routines, and holds a lot of memories for those who grew up hearing it.”
The mechanism has been saved and is being held onto by Nate, leaving open the possibility — though no promises were made — that the whistle could someday be repaired and returned to a new, safe platform. “Sometimes preserving our history means taking it down before we lose it completely,” the city wrote.
