Throughout Sweden’s history, moving buildings when you needed to was not an uncommon practice. Barns were moved in to and out of town. Like a house, but not its location? Move it. Don’t need that workshop anymore? Sell it and move it. Does it make more sense to have the church in a more central location? Take it apart and move it across town. All of these things have happened in Sweden.
The following photos illustrate the moving of one of the more historic farms in Sweden. The house, located on the corner of what is now the southeast corner of Tapawingo and Lovell Roads, was built around1818 by Nathan Holden. Before 1843, it experienced its first move diagonally across the intersection to the northwest corner, where it is shown in the period photo below.
The property had several owners over time, including longtime postmaster Benjamin Webber (1803-1886) and later, Cleora Saunders, who lived there in the early 1900s.
In the 1960’s, the farm was purchased and moved around the corner and down Webber Pond Road. These photos document the journey.
You can read more about this property in our book: Living, Learning, and Worshiping.
