EATON — The 1844-built South Eaton Meeting House is sitting a little differently these days as it undergoes a replacement of rotting wood and gets a new foundation.
Located in South Eaton at the corner of Towle Hill and Burnham Roads, near Purity Spring Resort off Route 153, the building is now perched on a set of footings, just south of where it had sat 176 years while crews of volunteers and paid crew go about the multiple tasks at hand.
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