The Old Epsom Free Will Baptist Church rolled down Route 4 to its new home on February 25, amid a parade-like atmosphere of on-lookers, police vehicles, and photographers. The 120-ton building had been loaded onto a trailer a few days prior to the early Sunday morning move, and began its journey at about 6 am. Thanks to a vote at a special town meeting on February 13, the town accepted the gift of the church as the centerpiece of a new village center complex that already includes a newly-opened library and the old town hall. The church will be used for town offices and public meeting space. Cumberland Farms, which bought the building last fall, has already begun construction of a new store on the site of the church, and had stipulated that the building be moved by March 1 or it would be torn down. On Friday, two days before the move, officials from Cumberland Farms presented a check for $10,000 to the Friends of Epsom's Historic Meetinghouse to help pay for the expense of relocating the church. The hard-working Friends group, chaired by Dick Frambach, worked for 18 months to raise nearly $90,000 to cover the costs of the move. The Preservation Alliance had made two small grants to the organization, and through the new shared field service program with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, had provided coaching in fund-raising and publicity strategies. The major east-west highway was closed to traffic for five hours while utility lines were dropped and the 42 foot wide building inched its way along the 45 foot wide roadway. The old bell in the steeple, which along with the stained glass windows and weathervane survived the move in perfect order, was rung at the conclusion of the move to the applause and cheers of bystanders. "This was a great day for preservation in New Hampshire and a great day for the town of Epsom," observed Maggie Stier, shared field service representative for the state. For a link to the Concord Monitor story, click here. http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/REPOSITORY/702260346