GRAFTON — A group of Mascoma Valley residents are organizing to save Grafton’s Center Meetinghouse, more than three years after the historic building was heavily damaged by fire.
Members of the nonprofit group Mascoma Valley Preservation say they’re in talks with Peaceful Assembly Church — the building’s current owner — to acquire its roughly half-acre property on Route 4, restore the 1797 church and repurpose it for the community.
The project isn’t an easy undertaking, the volunteers say, especially considering the meetinghouse’s deteriorating condition and central role in a legal dispute between the town and Peaceful Assembly.
But advocates say preserving the structure, given its history in Grafton, is worth seeing through.
“It’s held up over the past three years remarkably well. We’re convinced that it’s salvageable and savable” said Andrew Cushing, president of Mascoma Valley Preservation. “But I think that sometimes it takes people from the outside and younger people to acknowledge that.”
The nonprofit, which is made up of volunteers from all five Mascoma towns, was formed to help communities struggling to repair and care for aging buildings, said Cushing, who works as a field service representative for the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance.
Rather than relying solely on municipalities to tackle historic projects, local historians and community members thought “there must be a better way,” he said in an interview last week.
Built by Congregationalists who didn’t want to share an existing meetinghouse with Baptists in Grafton, the building was listed on the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s 2017 Seven to Save list.
Its floors were divided after passage of the Toleration Act of 1819, a state law that called for the separation of church and state, with town business limited to the first floor and church services on the second. The arrangement continued until 1963 when the own offices were relocated. The building was sold in 2010 to Peaceful Assembly Church and was occupied until the 2016 fire.
The Mascoma preservation group set its sights on Grafton for several reasons, including the town’s shortage of communal spaces such as a country store, Cushing said.
If the group is successful in renovating the building, the meetinghouse could become a library or similarly used community space, he said.
“It’s one idea were toying with,” Cushing said. “Nothing is settled but we want to present various options for the church.”
Supporters of the existing Grafton Library have for years advocated for the construction of a new building on donated land at the corner of Route 4 and Library Road.
The library, which was built in 1920, doesn’t have a bathroom and offers only limited space for patrons and staff, they say.
“People are pretty romantic about that idea,” Elaina Bergamini, founding president of Friends of the Grafton Library, said of the potential move.
Bergamini, who is also treasurer of Mascoma Valley Preservation, said library supporters were informed of the idea that the meetinghouse could be a new home for the town’s collection of periodicals.
However, she said, Library Trustees and the Selectboard likely will be engaged further once talks with Peaceful Assembly are wrapped up.
Mascoma Valley Preservation first needs to acquire the building before beginning restoration efforts, a process that’s complicated by a strained relationship between the Grafton Selectboard and Peaceful Assembly Church.
The town was awarded more than $10,000 in back taxes and legal fees last month after a lengthy court battle over whether the church should be exempt from taxes. Ultimately, it was Peaceful Assembly’s failure to restore the building following the early 2016 fire that convinced Grafton Superior Court Judge Peter Bornstein to rule in favor of the town.
Before relinquishing the church, Peaceful Assembly would like those fees and back taxes forgiven, Cushing said.
But town officials appear unlikely to accept that proposition.
Attempts to reach members of the church were not successful.
“As far as revising the court order, we’re really not at that point,” Selectboard member Steve Darrow said on Tuesday.
Although the town would like to see ownership of the meetinghouse change hands, it’s not inclined to negotiate any further settlements with the church group, Darrow said. That’s because the Selectboard has to look out for taxpayers who footed costs for the legal battle, he said.
“We understand that building, the church on the green, is a major landmark in town and probably an icon of the town of Grafton,” Darrow said, adding he hopes the preservation group is successful.
Backers also will need to raise money for the restoration effort, which will be tasked with repairing a building that an engineer in February labeled “structurally compromised.”
Cushing said it’s possible the project will be funded by donations, grants and potentially town money, although he said that hasn’t been decided quite yet.
“In Grafton, we’re expecting fewer town contributions and probably more grants and donations,” he said.
If all goes well, the group hopes to have the building completed by 2023, just in time for its 225th birthday.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.