NEW SHARON — A New Vineyard couple were the winners of an auction July 16 of the New Sharon Congregational Church and an adjacent building known as the “little church.”
The number of church members had dwindled to eight and it became “harder and harder” to keep the church going, Leona Carpentier, 70, of Vienna, a trustee, said in early July.
The winning bid for the New Sharon Congregational Church, another building and land in New Sharon was submitted in writing prior to the July 16 auction by a New Vineyard couple, according to Leona Carpentier, a church trustee. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal file photo
The property sits on about an acre of land on Cape Cod Hill Road. The main church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Several people attended the auction but the winning bid was submitted in writing before the auction was held, Carpentier said Thursday.
She didn’t know the closing date but members were told by auctioneer Adrian Harris it would be within 30 days of the event.
The name of the New Vineyard couple and the amount of the winning bid were not disclosed. The sale won’t be official until after closing.
Carpentier said she has no idea what the couple plans do with the property.
After closing, church members will hold a meeting and decide which charities they will disburse the money to, she said.
The history of the churches built in the 1840s will live on in other places, including at other local churches.
A pulpit and some large church chairs went to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Farmington. A smaller pulpit and a heavy 1850s Bible was given to Shorey Chapel United Church of Christ in Industry, Carpentier said.
Some other items went to the Farmington Downtown Association to be auctioned off, Carpentier said.
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