By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

The town of Epsom has few historic landmarks, and perhaps the most visible of those landmarks is now in danger of being lost.

The site of the Epsom Bible Church, and the attached Cornerstone Christian Academy, is being looked at by Cumberland Farms, which has expressed interest in building a new gas station there, according to John Spring, the church's pastor for the past 19 years.

DEMOLISH OR NOT? Epsom residents are working to save the Epsom Bible Church, built in 1864. Cumberland Farms is interested in the location but not the building, and has proposed helping pay to move it to a new location in town. (Nicholas Brown Photo)

In Cumberland Farms' path is the 1864 building that has housed the congregation since its construction, one of the most prominent structures in Epsom's center area.

The Epsom Bible Church's congregation has built a new building down the street and will be moving into it soon.

On Monday, May 16, Spring made selectmen aware of Cumberland Farms' interest. The selectmen's office was crowded with Epsom residents, many of whom voiced support for preserving the building.

Spring described Cumberland Farms as "more than willing" to donate the building to the town, and said they would also donate whatever money they would have used to demolish the building toward moving the building to a new site.

Matt Apgar, a Century 21 real estate agent and member of the church, gave the board a written estimate from Geddes Building Moving of the cost of moving the church.

The rough estimate totaling around $50,000 covers three potential phases - moving, storage and foundation - of moving the church 0.6 miles to the site of the old town offices.

Town officials expressed concern that even with help from Cumberland Farms, expected moving costs would well exceed the limits of this year's default budget.

Selectmen Julie Clermont and John Hickey both said money for the move would have to come from next year's budget, while expressing concern that the town might lose the building before a new budget could be passed.

They moved quickly to approve a motion to form a committee of volunteers that will focus on matters relevant to preserving the old building. A charter for the committee will be designed by Hickey and Harvey Harkness, member of the Epsom Historical Society. Many citizens present volunteered their names in writing.

"This structure has been an integral part of the physical presence of this town," said Harkness. "To me, it's not a issue of whether or not the town should preserve the building. It's an issue of how to do it."

Despite the obvious support, Spring said he worries that there won't be enough time and/or money to save the building since the deal with Cumberland Farms appears eminent.

"They're (Cumberland Farms) definitely the most aggressively interested party thus far," Spring Said. "They're willing to work with us, but I worry about the timing and whether or not we can get the money."

He added that the church has been looking to find buyers who have a serious interest in maintaining the old structure, but that making a sale is itself a priority.

"We will continue to work to preserve the building," he said. "But I want to qualify that by saying 'we have been'."

James Garvin, an architectural historian with the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, gave the crowd some encouragement, as he discussed several avenues of outside funding for the building's preservation.

He said his department would consider the project a "very attractive" candidate for a Land and Community Heritage Investment Program grant, though that type of grant is currently unavailable due to pending legislation.

He added that the program will likely be "brought back to life" eventually, but said its impossible to set a timeframe for the project's renewal. In the meantime, Garvin said his office may see the town as a candidate for a smaller $10,000 grant. The grant would come from revenue generated by the state conservation office through the sale of conservation license plates - he cited the "moose" license plate.

Garvin also made several suggestions as to what specific types of financial questions the freshly conceived building preservation committee should explore.

"That building looms high as a symbol for Epsom and as a symbol for this area," Garvin said. "It's the kind of building that many people will want to preserve."