OTISFIELD – The Otisfield Historical Society is hoping to gain ownership of the old town hall on Bell Hill to facilitate fundraising for its rehabilitation, the society’s president says.

Henry Hamilton said he will present a case to selectmen in April. It could go to a vote at the annual town meeting in June.

Hamilton said people have been reluctant to donate toward work on the Bell Hill Town Hall because it is owned by the town. He said the Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association has had success in raising funds and securing grants for the meetinghouse and a nearby one-room schoolhouse, both of which are owned by the association and on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town hall, which is also on the National Register, was built in 1905 and hosted the town meeting until the population outgrew it. Townspeople also voted at the hall, and records were stored in an attached brick vault constructed in 1925.

Official functions moved to the new town office – it’s the former Otisfield elementary school on Route 121 – in 1992 and a storage vault built in 1995. However, Hamilton said use of the old hall declined before that, with meetings and other town functions taking place at homes of town officers or the East Otisfield Community Hall on Route 121.

“The original voting booths are still in there. It’s basically unchanged in the past 80 or 90 years,” Hamilton said of the Bell Hill hall. “It’s an attractive building, and we would like to see it have a long life.”

Hamilton said a foundation needs to be constructed for the building, which is sagging in different directions due to shifting posts beneath it.

“It was an extremely well-built building, and that’s why it can survive these conditions,” he said.

The building would either be jacked up to allow work under it or moved to a foundation built alongside it. Other work would include restoration of the facade, removal of the vault, construction of a historically compliant addition on the back of the building, and window work.

The addition would have a second, handicapped accessible entrance. It would also include a restroom and entrance to the basement.

Hamilton said the project is estimated to cost $175,000, with grants providing some of the money.

“We’re looking at a very long-range undertaking,” he said.

Hamilton said he would like the building to retain a practical use, such as storing the society’s archives in the basement and hosting small receptions.

Hamilton said any agreement would likely include a clause to return the building to the town in the event of the dissolution of the historical society or other circumstances.