The church leadership, which no longer needed the building, offered to sell it to the town. For many, hopping on the chance to buy and control the fate of the property (which Grafton historian Ken Cushing called “the soul of the town”) was a no-brainer. But spending tax funds on a suspiciously sentimental concept like protecting “the character” of the town was opposed by a burgeoning population of libertarians. The Free Towners joined ranks with the reluctant taxpayers among Grafton’s longtime residents to form a large, vocal majority of those who expressed a position on the church’s
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