Monadnock Moment No. 121

Multi Era 3-6: Late 1700s to Early 1900s

Houses that Moved

Most of us are familiar with examples of large buildings being moved from one location to another. Many of us remember the sight of the Noah Cooke house being moved through downtown Keene late in 1973. Modern technology in the form of heavy equipment makes the movement of large items commonplace.

However, the moving of large buildings during the 19th century was as common as it is today, if not more common. Our ancestors were not concerned with overhead electrical lines, medians, and obstructions that we have today. Research conducted in Marlow has found records of many buildings being moved in that town, some of them over great distances. A large tavern was moved from Roxbury Center to downtown Marlborough in the 1890s. A recent publication by the Marlborough Historical Society tells the stories of 58 buildings that have been moved in Marlborough, most of them before the age of cranes and flatbed trucks.

Perhaps the most amazing move was that of a brick chimney near Wilson Pond in Swanzey in 1895. The chimney was 85 feet tall and weighed 150 tons. John Cavanaugh of Boston moved the chimney 200 feet, crossing a stream in the process. The energy was provided by two horses, each operating a capstan with ropes and pulley blocks. The hundreds of buildings that have been moved throughout the County attest to the ingenuity of our ancestors, who found ways to accomplish what they needed with the tools they had.