In a town where it appears a new house is popping up in every neighborhood, one Kennebunk contractor is focused on preserving what’s there.

Nate Michaud, a woodworker originally from northern Maine, is spearheading the extensive renovation of the old Methodist Meetinghouse, located at 7 Portland Road.

The interior of the building may be gutted, but don’t expect the exterior to look much different than it did when it was built in 1858.

“It still has that historical charm,” Michaud said. “Preserving historical elements is my main focus.”

The meetinghouse renovation has been a focus of Michaud’s for almost three years. He met the owners, who live in Boston, when he took on their neighbors’ home as his first customer in Kennebunk.

“It was the second-oldest building in Kennebunk,” Michaud said.

That project cemented his ability to preserve historical homes during a renovation, and inspired the meetinghouse’s owners to hire Michaud for their own renovation.

Originally, the owners only wanted to renovate two small rooms toward the back of the church, which had served as a vacation rental for several years.

But when Michaud started opening up the walls, he discovered rot, and layers upon layers of flooring, walls, and ceilings.

“It seems like whoever owned this before didn’t renovate at all,” Michaud said.

The owners then decided to gut everything in the building.

“They wanted to fully restore the church back to its former glory,” Michaud said.

Built as a post and beam building, Michaud said the meetinghouse had begun to deteriorate due to beetles and moisture.

As a woodworker, Michaud decided to keep the historical elements of the post and beam style building in his renovation.

“I’ve sourced time period specific lumber,” Michaud said.

Throughout the renovation, Michaud and his team have witnessed firsthand the rich history living in the walls of the building.

Over the last three years, Michaud has found signatures, dates, and artifacts hidden in the walls, including newspapers dating back to 1890.

“We’ve absolutely preserved every single thing we’ve found,” Michaud said. “At the end of the project, I plan to frame it all for the homeowners.”

As the renovation comes to a close in the next year or so, the homeowners plan to keep the building as it was originally intended to be: a meetinghouse.

For the Boston-based couple with lots of family in the Kennebunk area, the old church will serve as a gathering place for their family and friends, just as it was in the 1800s.

“They’re not in it for the money,” Michaud said. “They don’t want to flip it.”

In the next few months, Michaud and his team plan to restore the steeple, which is currently falling in on itself.

“That will be the most interesting part of this job,” Michaud said.

Attempts to reach Kennebunk Town Historian Kathy Ostrander Roberts were unsuccessful.