Developers of a proposed CVS pharmacy might want to stock up on aspirin after backlash from many residents indicate that moving forward on a Marion store could be a real headache.

The announcement arrived four years after a CVS developer approached a Mattapoisett landowner with a similar project. That plan was abandoned before plans were submitted to town officials.

Last week, design and legal professionals working for the Newton-based development firm Mark Investments LLC appeared before the Planning Board with the proposal.

Plans call for construction of a 14,600-square-foot building with a drive-thru at the corner of the intersection of Route 6 and Front Street. The site is home to the historic Captain Hadley House, built in 1846.

Sippican Week spoke with almost two dozen residents, both on and off the record, regarding the new store and found almost no support for the project.

Similar sentiments were shared on a Facebook page created in the days leading up the Planning Board’s meeting on the project. Nearly 100 comments were posted on the page.

“It seems like we lose another historic building every time we turn around,” said Sippican Historical Society Curator Pete Smith said. “Progress just seems to walk all over history in my book.”

To make room for the CVS, developers proposed relocating the 3,900-square-foot building to a parcel adjacent to the site, not far from its current location on Route 6.

“I applaud them for not demolishing the Hadley House, but I’m very leery of all the traffic the store would bring. The traffic at Cumberland Farms right now shows you what a big hazard that would be,” said  Smith.

Aside from traffic issues, Smith said he fears the town is losing its historical buildings.

Others said it would drastically alter the town’s main intersection.

“I would argue the store is too large to serve the local area, and I’m sure they can come up with plans for it to look better architecturally,” said Bill Saltonstall. “It would take an important area of town. It’s the entrance to the village, really.”

Saltonstall and his wife Tinker are longtime residents who have been active in town affairs.

“It’s absolutely not an appropriate building or business for Marion, and most of all, the location is not appropriate,” Tinker said.

And the Hadley House is home to a lot of history. According to local historian Judy Rosbe, President Grover Cleveland spent a few summers in Marion and would often entertain residents at the Hadley House. The Cleveland’s named their daughter Marion after the town they loved.

Some spoke about wanting to protect the town’s character.

One former resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the store would alter the town’s character.

“I love Marion and it’s been part of my family for multiple generations. This [CVS] would be a horror! I feel extraordinarily strong about this,” the resident said. “That site is home to one of the last remaining historical buildings on Route 6 and if it goes then we’ve lost part of Marion’s identity.”

At that meeting, developers proposed a building that would be three times larger than the Cumberland Farms across the street.

While that particular location for a CVS has drawn fire, the idea of bringing new business into town is a welcome one.

“I would have to say that the town of Marion needs to have some business brought in to increase our tax base,” said Planning Board member Michael Popitz. “A lot of people in town look forward to having a great business come into the community.”

However, he questioned why the CVS corporatation thought that the size of the project would be a good fit for that location.

Chair Stephen Kokkins said his board is looking forward to a collaborative process.

“We want to work with these people,” Kokkins said. “We’re not anti-business. What we are doing is taking care of the character and citizens of Marion.”

According to one former Planning Board member, it is within the board’s power to deny the developer from building on the site.

“The project presented to the Planning Board, in my opinion, will never be built in Marion,” said former member Ted North. “For most of us it means big and ugly and not attractive to those of us who live in Marion. The board has the regulatory tools to shape commercial development of the site in a manner that will benefit both the landowners and out town.”