The one mile trip down the highway
took less than 15 minutes and had only

one awkward moment, when turning

into the new site.

Perhaps the most frightening moment of
the moving day was the moment when
Barnhart Crane required me to sign a con-
tract stating that if the crane

got stuck, I was responsible for getting

it out. The crane was capable of lifting

225 tons to a height of 90 feet. The weight
of the barn loft had been estimated at
40,000 Lbs. This turned out to be a fairly
accurate estimate, but we failed to adjust
for the 20,000 Lbs of moving beams
employed. The 50,000 lbs of counterbal-
ance weight were not

adequate and the barn needed to be

re hung on chains, rather than nylon
straps, at the last moment. Ken Day dis-
patched his truck to Monroe for the addi-
tional counterbalance weights. The
crowd that had gathered for the lift

dispersed somewhat. And the wind

kicked up.

After a two hour wait we were ready to

try again. The 62,500lbs. assembly hung

solidly from one cable and moved very

slowly over the new prepared base while
20 people and two winch trucks

tried to reduce the effects of the wind.

 

The barn was finally settled squarely onto
it's new base. A huge sigh of relief

went up when nothing moved or distort-
ed. The old building has a new purpose.
Preserving Heritage, Inspiring Creativity,
and Building Community.

A note on saving old buildings:

What does it cost? The Barn is 41 x 44 feet. 1804 square
feet on each floor, 3608 in total. The unusually involved
clean out, re enforcing new site and moving costs
(including some volunteer labor) were under $20,000.00
That is less than $6.00 per square foot. When the con-
crete, new loft floor, wiring and lower walls are added
the cost will be under $20.00 per square foot. IF YOU
ARE WILLING TO WORK AT IT - old buildings can be
substantially cheaper than mediocre modern ones.

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