As part of the Old Harbor Village project, Harbor Church is undergoing adaptive reuse to provide a welcoming center for visitors to Old Harbor Village, as well as being a revenue source as a location for get-togethers, weddings, and other events.
The Harbor Church, bordering the natural beauty of the Harbor Pond on the south side of Main Street, known as the meeting-house rather than a house of worship, was dedicated in 1854; built for the Unitarian Society by local contractors, John Hart and Amos Morse. The Society was unsuccessful in keeping the doors open and eventually in 1857 sold the steeple bell and abandoned the building.
For 114 years the church building was used as a meeting center for social gatherings, dramatic clubs, concerts, socials, whist games, pot-luck suppers, dances, theatrical performances and minstrel shows.
In 1981 the building served as a training center for Townsend teens, offering programs in agriculture, forest management and computer technology until 1985 when the Townsend Historical Society became the owner of the building.
The Church at the Old Harbor Village restoration will create a space to continue and enhance those programs as a welcome center, and a place for gatherings of all sorts.