Members of a Phillips congregation gathered Sept. 3 to witness the transfer of a deed that returned the historic Phillips Congregational Church back into the community’s hands.

The church at 4 Sawyer St., which is known by several names, including the Union Meeting House and Sawyer Street Church, was built in 1835. Use of the building was shared by three religious denominations for the first century of its life: Universalists, Free Will Baptists and Congregationalists.

In 1931, the Congregationalists took full ownership of the building, renaming it the Phillips Congregational Church. With declining attendance, the church was sold to a private owner five to seven years ago and has been vacant since.

Jane Thorndike, president of the Phillips Historical Society, said the building is a pillar in the community, acting as a town landmark at the end of Main Street.

“Everybody refers to that building as the starting point to talking about where things are in Phillips. Yeah, I mean that really is the icon to the town,” Thorndike said.

Though the building has been known by several names, Thorndike said the historical society is considering renaming it to more closely align with its original title, the Union Meeting House.

“It’s been decommissioned as a church, so we really can’t call it the church. Yeah, even though we all refer it to it as the church,” she said.

Thorndike said the historical society is planning to celebrate the acquisition Sunday, Oct. 11. The community is invited to an open house to share memories of the building and see the inside, for those who have never had the chance. A blessing service will start the day for the former congregants.

“They never really had their own proper closing of the building for themselves when they sold it,” she said.

About a dozen people, both former parishioners and members of the historical society, lingered in the church after the deeding. They shared their memories of the parish. Each was thrilled to see the building go back into the hands of conservationists.

Some in attendance noted that the ownership of the church is the legacy of the older generation to preserve Phillips’ heritage.

After the ownership was transferred, a few members of the historical society climbed a ladder to the bell tower. The goal was to inspect the clock mechanism, which was hauled in a station wagon from Florida in the early 1990s. The clock, and accompanying bell, hasn’t consistently run in years.

Denny Atkinson, the former president of the Phillips Historical Society and the resident expert on the clock, said his knowledge came from hours of inspecting and repairing the mechanism over the years.

“I’d come up here and sit and stare at this thing for hours,” he said.

After a short period playing with the gears, Atkinson and Doug Dickson watched as the clock began ticking for the first time in years.

Thorndike said the next step is the bell, which Atkinson hopes to have operational before Oct. 11.

“We’ll start the open house at noon and maybe turn the clock on to strike at noon. That would be really kind of cool,” she said.

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