SOUTH NEWFANE-We at the South Newfane Community Association (SNCA) are pleased to announce that the historic village church on Dover Road in the center of South Newfane, formerly the home of the South Newfane Baptist congregation, has recently been sold.
The church had been closed for several years due to a dwindling congregation, the effects of Covid and ongoing maintenance issues. Trustee Tim Cawrse, who had been the primary caretaker of the property and worked tirelessly over many years to keep up the systems, assessed the repairs needed as greater than what the small congregation could manage.
The new owner of the building is Matt Ewald of Pinnacle Builders, Inc., a Putney-based construction firm that specializes in 18th- and 19th-century restoration and reproductions.
Ewald and his crew are well-suited to the task of bringing the aging structure up to current codes and giving it a new life and purpose.
Ewald has been in the trade for over 30 years and honed his skills locally working at Jonathan Jesup Restorations company, well-known for its expertise in historic renovation. Ewald has recently added the talented and knowledgeable carpenters of his former employer to his own team.
About his plans for the South Newfane church, Ewald says that "the building itself is in remarkable shape for its age."
"It has issues, notably the dirt floor crawl space basement that has allowed a lot of moisture to attack the floor system," he says. "That will need full replacement along with proper drainage around the building. But the frame itself is remarkable, and there has been very little movement."
The stained-glass windows "are unique and beautiful as well," he says.
"And though we will need proper and up-to-date exterior windows and doors, we are going to be looking to incorporate them into the design wherever we can," Ewald adds.
"As of now we are still in the planning stages, but the end goal will most likely be to convert the church into residential property. This project will take some time but we are targeting fall of 2026 for completion."
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The church sale was facilitated by the South Newfane Community Association (SNCA), the local nonprofit group that the church board chose to bequeath the building to once it decided to close the doors permanently and dissolve the organization.
Closing was a painful decision, as the church had once been a vibrant part of community life in South Newfane, with its first organized congregation dating to the late 1700s.
The current structure was built in 1860 on a parcel of land donated by the Pardon Perry family, and served as a meeting place for worship, friendship, and a great sense of local pride for over 160 years.
Donating the building to SNCA, which also owns and maintains the South Newfane Schoolhouse, was a generous move on the church board's part and allowed the community group to find the right buyer for the building who would carry it into its next stage.
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The SNCA board members who worked with Ewald to secure the sale included Maia Segura, Daimian Lix, Ann Golob, and Carol Ross. Their goal in receiving the church as a bequeathed gift was threefold, and we are happy that all three of those goals are now being met.
1. The first and primary goal was to facilitate the sale of the building to a buyer who would preserve its historic integrity.
2. Second was the intention to keep the proceeds from the sale of the church within the village and put them toward upgrades in the Schoolhouse.
3. And third was the hope that the church renovation would help in some way to alleviate the housing shortage in the community.
To all involved with this change of ownership, it feels like a true win-win-win.
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The upcoming renovation of the church is part of an overall revitalization taking place in the village of South Newfane.
Across the road from the church is Willow Vermont, the newly established art and yoga retreat center operated by Tom Concannon and Ravi Shimpi, who relocated to Vermont from Boston. Willow is bringing workshop leaders and guests from across the county to participate in their programs.
Next door to Willow is the South Newfane Schoolhouse, which serves as the local community center, hosting a variety of music, theater, and art events year-round. The Schoolhouse is in the fundraising stage for constructing an accessibility ramp on the building and eventually we hope to add an up-to-code wastewater system.
Across the road from the Schoolhouse is the blighted former South Newfane General Store, which has been shuttered for over a decade. The store and its adjacent house are now slated to be demolished through a Federal Emergency Management Agency program.
The property will be returned to green space, bringing a much welcomed and refreshed sense of place in the heart of South Newfane village.
Chris Triebert is a trustee of the South Newfane Community Association. The Commons' Deeper Dive column gives artists, arts organizations, and other nonprofits elbow room to write in first person and/or be unabashedly opinionated, passionate and analytical about their own creative work and events.
This News column was submitted to The Commons.