This week on Facebook I came across a post from The Historic Pella Trust in Pella, Iowa that deserves our attention this Foursquare Friday. This one post regarding the need to relocate an American Foursquare home triggered a staggering 2,600 reactions, 1,500 comments and 4,500 shares.
According to the Facebook post below, Central College in Pella currently owns this home. The college board decided that this house, which used to house college professors, no longer has practical use in future campus plans. And the cost to upgrade this house up to institutional code is not cost-effective. Therefore, the College will demolish the house if not moved by June 1st of this year. However, the college, sensitive to the historic status of the house, will contribute $10,000 to defray moving costs.
About the Waechter House
Adolphus Waechter, Pella’s second-generation lumber baron, built this home for his family in 1914. Nicknamed the “Waechter house”, it is one of the largest century-old homes remaining in Pella. It’s quite spacious for a Foursquare, featuring 4,500 square feet of living area with a full attic, five bedrooms, two full baths, a second-story sun porch and original wood and built-ins throughout.
Check out the pictures in the post which shows a substantial amount of original woodwork. As a Foursquare home owner with white-painted woodwork, I’m quite jealous!
https://www.facebook.com/historicpellatrust/posts/928604760647329
The grass-roots effort of a community coming together to rally to find a new location for this home is quite impressive! It’s impressive enough that it motivates an average girl like me, sitting 1,300 miles away in New England to write a blog post at 5am to pitch in and do my part!
Structure Relocation
So, what will the future owner have to face in moving this house? While this may seem like a daunting task, structure relocation isn’t uncommon. The International Association of Structural Movers (a non-for-profit trade organization) estimates that 40,000 private homes are moved annually. Some are moved due to natural disasters – flooding and landslips – but the majority are moved for preservation of the historic building.
However, moving costs can be substantial – from $50,000 to $2,000,000 – depending on the size of the house and the distance to the new location. According the Facebook post, estimated moving costs for the Waechter house is $50,000.
Some houses relocate easier than others. For example, older brick buildings are sturdier and withheld the stress of lifting and moving, and wood-frame homes are more flexible and easier to manuever. To move, houses are removed from their foundations, lifted, and moved using a series of dollies and jacks. Curious and want to learn more? Check out this video from CIRCA Old Houses and Wolfe House Movers that shows some amazing move projects.
How Can You Help?
- Interested in the Pella house? Contact Central College at 877-462-3687.
- Share Historic Pella Trust post on Facebook
- Share this blog post
- Questions? Comments? You know the drill – comment section below
UPDATE!!!! GOOD NEWS!!!!
HOUSE SAVED!!!!! Facebook post as of August 8, 2018:
8/8/2018- The new owner of this home is Mikol Sesker, she will have it moved to a rural location about 20 miles from Pella within the next month. The porch and the roof will have to come off to make the move possible and will be reconstructed when it reaches the new location. Please follow Historic Pella Trust with more information! This is a win for Historic Pella Trust with a solid promotion and rescue.
Watch these videos of the house literally being moved over a period of 2-3 days (starting October 23, 2018)
According to an updated Facebook post by the college in the fall of 2021, the house is progressing nicely.
“In order to move it, the entire roof and the sides of the wrap-around porch had to be removed. Each rafter and roof board was numbered so that they could be replaced in their original place. The next year, the home was placed on its new foundation and the roof and side porch were reattached. Last year, a hand-bent copper roof was placed. Work on the interior has continued apace: plaster repairs are ongoing, the wiring has been replaced, and the heating system – using 90% of the original components, should be up and running yet this fall. A new septic system has been added and plumbing work on the copper and cast iron water plumbing system is continuing. Completion of hand-painting the exterior via brush was accomplished this fall. The windows have been stripped and reglazed, repainted and the double-hung counterweights rehung using new rope.”
Foursquare Friday (#foursquarefriday) is a recurring feature with tidbits of info about the American Foursquare style of home.
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