ROCK HILL • The corner where the old stone Rock Hill church has stood for the last 166 years will likely become the site of a gasoline station and convenience store.

U-Gas, a Fenton-based chain, is purchasing the property from the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Inc. Developers said Tuesday it may not be able to save the church.

"In a perfect world you can save everything, but there's economics involved and hopefully people will understand," said Bill Biermann, a partner with U-Gas in the project.

The Fairfax House, which dates to 1839 and also sits on the property, is expected to be moved to the northern edge of the nearly 2-acre tract, at McKnight and Manchester roads.

The house is owned by the city of Rock Hill, but the move will be paid for by U-Gas.

The Presbytery, which is the regional arm of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., voted more than a year ago to sell the land, citing its financial needs and the cost of maintaining the church.

The Presbytery could not be reached about the sale. U-Gas declined to disclose the purchase price of the property.

Biermann said the developers had tried to design the project to include the church, then looked into moving the church, but that was too costly. He said the developers were interested in working with anyone on a move.

Previous estimates to move the church were put at $450,000.

"We recognize the historical significance of the church, and we're trying our best," Biermann said.

The church was built in the 1840s by slaves,

who carried stones by hand to the site.

The Rock Hill Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider the gas station/convenience store plan on July 6.

Because a gas station is an allowed use for the property, the issue will not need to go before the mayor and Board of Aldermen, said George Liyeos, Rock Hill city manager.

A dedicated group of residents has been restoring the Fairfax House. The exterior walls have been painted, and its main interior systems have been replaced.

After the house is moved, the city would lease the land it sits on from U-Gas for $10 a year, Liyeos said.

The status of the old limestone church worries historians and others. Both the church and Fairfax house are county landmarks.

Esley Hamilton, St. Louis County's preservation historian, has worked for years to save the two structures. In 2004, Hamilton presided over a ceremony to celebrate the placement of the house on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Both of these buildings are especially important to the larger community because they are so visible, among very few historic landmarks that are also landmarks in the sense that they are visual markers of the history of where we live," Hamilton said.

The church was built in 1845 and is the third-oldest building in the denomination, after Des Peres Presbyterian, built in 1834, and the Bonhomme Presbyterian Church, circa 1841, Hamilton said.

The original congregation at the Rock Hill church disbanded in 2005. A United African Presbyterian congregation then used the church.

About a year ago, the congregation departed, and members are now meeting in homes.

"I think the little old stone church would be even more of a loss than the Fairfax House," said Donia Hunter, chair of the Rock Hill Historic Preservation Commission. "It would be a loss to the whole entire country. It's our heritage. It's our history. The little stone church is a landmark recognized by everybody in the community."

Hunter said that so far about $100,000 in private money had been spent on the Fairfax House to replace systems, paint, put on a new roof and do interior work.

The house contains some exhibits and is used for special events.

The day before the planning commission takes up the matter, the Board of Aldermen is expected to enact an ordinance to remove any restrictions on the number of gas stations in the town.

The limit is now two. Liyeos said that the city already is in violation of the ordinance, with three in existence, and wants to correct the wording.