This has been an excruciating week as we watched our farmhouse sliding along iron beams and pivoting away from its original foundation. The process has been very slow and exacting, with many stops to make sure the house stayed level and that the twisting movements did not cause the house to run out of beam! Here’s a short video showing how the house is moved, pulled by a winch anchored by what looks like a rusting 1940’s truck.

There were moments when the wooden cribs were creaking.

A few feet at a time, the house moved along the driveway.

It took a week for Fox & Sons to get the house into position for Payne Building Movers to come in with their wheels to move the house along a temporary road to the new foundation 300 to 400 feet away.

The tension in our faces tells a story!

Once the house was moved, we could see into the old basement. The crumbling granite walls confirmed the wisdom of our decision to abandon the site. The bricks that once held up the chimney stack will be repurposed.

We ended the week on a high note, tramping the construction site with neighbors who are interested in the process and who care that we are preserving a bit of Sweden’s history.