OTISFIELD – A campaign has begun to save the distinctive red belfry atop the Bell Hill Meetinghouse, one of Otisfield’s most visible landmarks.

“It’s a rather splendid building,” said Jean Hankins, a member of the Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association.

Hankins is the treasurer for an effort to raise at least $15,000 to pay for the specialized work on the belfry dome. The dome is held together by eight rafters mortised into a hub, much like the spokes of a wheel.

“The hub is rotted away, along with much of the structure supporting it,” said Dan Allen, a building contractor who climbed up into the belfry dome to survey the damage.

“One hundred and sixty-five years of weather have taken their toll,” he said.

The deterioration was discovered after people noticed that the weather vane atop the belfry had dropped 3 feet.

The weather vane actually “slipped into the dome, and showed us a symptom of the problem,” said Hankins. “That’s what got us going.”

The meetinghouse, built in 1839 on one of the highest hills in town, was placed last year on the National Register of Historic Places. Hankins said the church was last regularly used in 1877, when a new church was built at Spurrs Corner. Annual services have been held in the church since 1893, “just to keep it going,” said Hankins.

“Until recently the proceeds from the annual service have more or less supported the maintenance of the church,” she said. But in recent years, the proceeds from the services have not been sufficient because of rising insurance costs.

Hankins said the association, composed of current and former residents, hopes to start work in spring to repair the belfry. The group is making a direct appeal for donations, and plans to apply for historic preservation grants.

Anyone wishing to support the association’s Belfry Fund may send donations to: Belfry Fund, c/o Jean Hankins, treasurer, 202 Scribner Hill Road, Otisfield, ME 04270.