Houses On the Move!
Why tear down a 100 year old house when you can move it?
As you might imagine, moving a house is no easy feat. It involves meticulous planning and man power. After removing or securing everything inside the house, the house has to be disconnected from utilities like electricity and water. Hydraulic lifts are used to lower 30+ tons of historic lumber on to the back of a special flatbed truck. It then begins its journey. If there are any electric poles in the way, those have to temporarily be taken down.
In the early 1900s, a house was moved along Hecla Street by horse and wagon. In 1999, this house was moved to Tamarack Street by truck. It is unknown who moved the house in the 1900s but the Sprengers are the ones that transformed this neglected house (neglected might be putting it nicely–!) and made it into their private residence; a beautiful buttercup yellow house with sage green trim that stands next to Laurium Manor and right across the street from Victorian Hall.
It’s astonishing to see the before/after pictures. Dave & Julie Sprenger put a tremendous amount of work into restoring this magnificent home. It definitely takes someone (or in this case, an amazing couple) with vision and appreciation for the past to take on a project of this scale.
Laurium Manor Inn 