CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. -- The Clifton Park Center Baptist Church, built in 1837 on the highest point overlooking what was then a small town, will soon be demolished.

The historic structure has eroded inside and out since it stopped being used after a new church was built next door in 1990.

The old brick church was built by Revolutionary War veteran Abijah Peck and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004.

A number of Peck family members still live near the church, including Jessika Robinson, who grew up next door.

"It definitely kind of angers me a little bit and my family too because it’s part of our history, our family’s history," Robinson said.

"It is a big disappointment,” said John Scherer said. “Here in Clifton Park it is sometimes a battle to save historic structures."

Town historian since the 1970s, Scherer says there have been many efforts to save the building. In addition to alerting church leaders about possible grant opportunities, he says the Pecks and others have offered to buy it.

"Between the Peck family and the Town, we have gone above and beyond what municipalities what are usually willing do to try and preserve a building," Scherer said.

Declining an on-camera interview, the Clifton Park Center Baptist Church Commission released a written statement in which they said the decision to demolish the church was “extremely difficult.” They also denied claims they’ve been offered any public assistance to help preserve the building; some Scherer maintains is simply not true.

"If they wanted to keep the church, they had every opportunity to do so," said Scherer.

Scherer noted that a building’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places only protects it from being impacted by state and federally funded projects. Privately owned structures, such as the church, are free to be demolished if the owner chooses to do so.

After the church received a demolition permit from the town, the town's historical preservation commission was given 30 days to document the inside before it's torn down.

Unable to stop it, it is a day Robinson's family regrettably knows is coming.

"Yes, you can do whatever you want but just know a lot of people are not going to be happy,” Robinson said. “You are destroying this historical monument in our town that is important to all of us."