Moving Experience — Phase 1

This artistic rendering is of a Christmas wreath and sign that were tacked to the historic Nissen House in Lewisville weeks ago.

Nissen House Move

Happy New Year, everyone! Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve posted this New Year’s Day blog entry much later in the day than I usually do. I have a written excuse, though. It’s summed up in four simple words: “Nissen House is Moving.”

I spent a good portion of yesterday (December 31) and much of today (January 1) photographically documenting the moving of the historic Nissen House in Lewisville from the place where it has rested for over 130 years to its new home just down the street.

I simply ran out of photo editing and processing time on yesterday’s shots. And all of a sudden it was time to head back to the site early this morning as the house-moving process continued from where it left off the day before.

Yesterday’s moving phase resulted in the Nissen House being moved approximately 100 feet from its original location to the street’s edge. Today, the house made it down the street to its new home site, although it has not been positioned on the footings. That final task is slated for Monday, January 5.

The Movers

Aside from the important historical nature of the house’s move and the fact that it, thankfully, has been saved from demolition, there’s another side of the story that has impressed me. It has to do with the movers themselves — all men — who employed a high-degree of skill and effort in order to move the house.

Frankly, I haven’t seen men work so hard in a very long time! (Now, don’t misconstrue my statement. I’m not one of those who think men rarely work hard at all!) Moreover, the men moving the Nissen House — who are with Blake Moving Company in Greensboro — exercised the qualities of patience, stamina, problem-solving and teamwork, which are critical for the complicated and tedious task of moving houses. There were no hotheads, no prima donnas, and definitely no slackers in the group.

As demanding as the first phase was, today’s portion of the move brought even more challenges and time-consuming, energy-sapping twists and turns. Yet no one on the team got bent out of shape. They simply worked together — and worked hard — to solve the challenges they encountered.

Photo Gallery

Photos from yesterday’s first phase of the Nissen House move can be seen in the Nissen House Relocation – Phase 1 photo gallery. You’ll see the movers hard at work in their various roles, plus you’ll see the faces of those who came to watch the Nissen House move. Among the onlookers are members of the Lewisville Historical Society and others who played key roles in saving the Nissen House.

If you’re looking for more Nissen House information, please check out all of the Nissen House articles featured on this website.