BUCKFIELD — Town officials discussed Tuesday preparing an article for this year’s town meeting warrant to gather feedback from residents on the future of the historic Old Church on the Hill.

The Old Church on the Hill in Buckfield, featured on the town’s seal, could be sold if voters approve it at the town meeting in June. Submitted photo

“We should ask the community by putting together a warrant article asking if they would support gifting or selling the Old Church on the Hill for not a whole lot of money,” Selectman Sandra Fickett said. “A person, a group, a foundation, and if they agree to keep the exterior looking as it does, so it looks like the Old Church on the Hill.”

The church, originally known as the Union Church or Union Chapel, was built as a Universalist church between 1831 and 1832. Located at 77 High St., it was built with the cooperation of other denominations, which shared services.

Prominently featured on the town’s seal, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. According to the application, the church “is an outstandingly handsome and well-proportioned example of a late Federal meetinghouse with transitional Gothic features. The 91-foot spire is regarded as a model of proportion and grace.”

The town took ownership of the building around 1900. Since then, the structure has been used for town meetings and even hosted basketball games in the 1950s. In recent years, the church has hosted concerts, weddings and public gatherings.

The building has been largely vacant since the pandemic, with the town paying for electricity and insurance costs. In need of restoration work, the town uses the structure for storage.

The condition of the steeple is a major concern. The town could either put up scaffolding to repair it or remove it for renovations on the ground. Stabilizing the structure would be costly, Fickett said.

The town seal of Buckfield prominently features the Old Church on the Hill, which was originally known as the Union Church. The town is exploring the cost of repairing the steeple on the church, built in 1832.

“I really think that building holds a lot of value to this community,” Selectman Azalea Cormier said. “What it symbolizes. It’s history. How long it’s been part of the community. The historical society finds it on old china, in historic homes in Buckfield. Seeing the church fall into such disrepair, it doesn’t feel right.”

Town Manager Cameron Hinkley said he plans to work on drafting the article and consult with the town’s attorney. He believes there is enough time to present it to voters at June’s town meeting.

Fickett saw many potential uses for the building, such as a studio, meeting space or even a home.

“People want the structure to exist,” Fickett said. “But it would be a hard sell to ask the people of Buckfield to pay that much money for a building we can’t really use.”