MUSKEGON, Mich. — Sometimes even a house needs a new home. The house at 1292 Jefferson St. in Muskegon originally belonged to lumber baron C.D. Nelson, and it’s on the move for the second time in its 156-year history.
The house is being moved to save it from being demolished by Muskegon Public Schools, who owns the property.
City of Muskegon Planner Jamie Pesch said, “Their plan was to clear the site, demolish the three buildings on the site; they had no use for them. And community outcry led us as the city to look into the potential for saving the Nelson House.
In charge of the move is Deitz House Moving Engineers (DHME).
“We just want to assemble a grid of steel and wood that recreates the foundation so that the house doesn't bend, twist,” said DHME Co-owner Dan Deitz.
Once the house is secured to its portable foundation, it will begin its trek to its new home.
“It's going to be moved right down Third Street, going to hang left on the Muskegon Avenue and it'll be at 382 West Muskegon Ave. right across from Nelson Place Apartments,” Pesch explains.
Weirdly, this isn’t the first time the Nelson House has been moved. The house originally was at the corner of Third and Webster where the Lincoln statue sits in Hackley Park.
Dan Dietz said, “The thing about these historical structures is they were built with redundant practices back in the day. So they're strong; they're stronger than a modern house. And I mean, my hat goes off to the people who moved it the first time.”
In 1891, to make way for the park, the house was put on logs and rolled to its current location to be used as a church rectory.
“I think the prominence of the original owner and just the value of the house itself was the reason it was saved,” said Pesch.
He says, unfortunately, there has been a history of demolishing historical homes in the city and they want to turn that trend around. He says, “We really wanted to make sure that this one didn't meet the same fate as all the other houses in the past.”
UPDATE 07/15/2024: DHME announced the move has been postponed to July 16, citing severe weather as the reason.
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