Cumberland Farms is willing to donate the church and $10,000 to the Epsom, N.H., but the town is struggling to raise another $100,000 to move and preserve it. (Epsom Bible Church)

UPDATE: In February 2007, Epsom voters endorsed a plan to move the historic Free Will Baptist meetinghouse to a new location rather than be demolished for a new Cumberland Farms store.

Later this year, a Cumberland Farms convenience store will occupy the site of a Civil War-era church in rural New Hampshire.

But the voters of Epsom, N.H., may decide the fate of the Epsom Bible Church in March, when they take to the polls. On the ballot are three items that would allow the town to relocate the church and to accept the building and a $10,000 donation toward the move from the convenience store chain, which has a contract to buy the property.

"It's one of those things where, right now, it's up in the air. It could go either way," says Dick Frambach, chair of the town's Save the Church Committee, which so far has raised only $3,000 of the estimated $100,000 needed to move and preserve the church.

The wood-frame structure, built in 1861 by the Baptist Freewill Society, will be vacated this spring when the Epsom Bible Church, using money from the sale of the land, moves to larger facilities. Church leaders convinced Cumberland Farms, which plans to build a store on the property, to donate the church to the town rather than demolishing it.

"The church as been a contributor to the community for many years," says John Spring, church pastor. "There are people in town that really want to see it preserved."

Town leaders were open to the idea and six months ago appointed a committee of volunteers to raise $100,000, a large amount for a community of 4,000. The Save the Church Committee is looking for grants and hopes that if the articles pass in March, the project will pick up some momentum. The group is also holding public meetings to discuss future uses for the building.

Frambach worries that many residents will not be able to see past the dollar amount and appreciate the importance of saving the local landmark.

"Most historical buildings aren't here anymore," Frambach says. "We have the opportunity to do something. I hope that the citizens recognize that although it costs a little money, what you get back is some history."

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