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McKern house and barn slated for August move |
By Amanda
Newman,
Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Amanda at
anewman@eaglenewspapers.com
|
The McKern house and barn
will move to their new location “very soon,” according to Lorraine
Hall of the Friends of Historic Newberg. The move has been
tentatively scheduled for Aug. 2.
Hall said the move will probably occur “very early in the day to
avoid traffic problems” as the house travels along Highway 219 from
the corner of Wilsonville and Springbrook roads to its new home west
of Sportsman’s Airpark.
Efforts
to save the historical house and accompanying barn — built by Oregon
pioneer Luke McKern Jr. in 1874 and the 1850s, respectively — began
in 2005, when the property on which the homestead is currently
located was purchased by developer Coyote Homes.
Friends of Historic Newberg stepped up to raise funds and
coordinate the moving effort.
“I don’t think any of us had any idea when we decided to embark on
this adventure that it would be so long or so hard,” Hall said.
However, she said they would do it again. “We still really believe
in it. If we lost the house or the barn ... there would be no
replacing them.”
The structures will be moved by Keith Settle of Northwest
Structural Moving.
The barn, which sits on a cement slab, will be raised for the move.
A steel superstructure will be created underneath to mimic a floor
during the move, Hall explained.
The group has raised about $40,000, nearing the amount necessary
for the move itself. However, costs for moving utilities will be at
least $32,000 and the building will need to have a foundation
installed within 45 days of moving, incurring additional costs.
Chehalem Park and Recreation District has stepped forward with the
extra funds necessary for the move and the utilities, in the form of
a loan.
“We’re still fund-raising,” Hall said. “We’re still looking for a
contractor ... to step up and donate labor and materials (for the
foundation).”
“Then restoration begins — the fun part!” she added.
The house will be turned into a heritage museum, which the group
hopes to open by 2009, the 150th anniversary of Oregon’s statehood,
Hall said. Furnishings and vintage quilts have already been donated
to the museum, mostly from local families with histories of their
own.
“It’s something the community will enjoy and reap the benefits for
years to come,” Hall said. |
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From
July 25, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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