Claire-

If you have ever been to Old Forge, New York, you will have driven past Van Auken's Inn, a large 19th c. hotel in the hamlet of Thendara, directly across the street from the Thendara railroad station. This hotel was originally built in 1891 right beside the station, fronting on the tracks, but sparks from the locomotives kept catching it on fire. The story told locally, by surviving members of the following generation, is that the primary local house builder, George Ginther, was hired to move it in 1908. He used log rollers to do the job, which involved moving it about 200 ft. and setting it on a new foundation. Before the move, one of the wealthier patrons placed $200 on the bar, under a tumbler filled to the brim with water, and told Ginther that if he could make the move without spilling a drop the money was his. As the bar continued to serve throughout the process (Thendara being a logging town), a number of people witnessed his success. The electrical service remained on during the move as well.


Marty Pickands
New York State Museum
>>> Claire Horn <[log in to unmask]> 09/01/07 8:35 AM >>>
Hi -

I'm working on analysing front yard depositions of a site where the
original house was built in the 1850s, then moved across town prior to
construction of a 2nd, larger house around 1876.  Does anyone have an idea
about how houses would have been moved around that time - i.e., taken
apart piece by piece and reassembled, or moved whole?  We have a layer of
very gravelly fill capping the original surface, and I'm wondering if the
gravel could be related in any way to the house moving.  Not that we don't
often find gravelly fill.

Thanks!

Claire Horn
Public Archaeology Facility
Binghamton, NY