The big question around town is — when will Old Town House be moved?

NYHS is waiting on pins and needles, too! If you have any kind of building or remodeling project going on, you’ll understand the challenge these days of the building industry boom … supply chain difficulties … the scramble for labor and materials. It’s made everybody‘s project a “hurry up and wait” scenario.

We’re as anxious as everybody as we await the big day—and Clayton Copp & Sons Building Movers is literally working hard to nail down the date! Clayton is one busy guy these days; Old Town House is one of two dozen projects he and his crew have in the works. However, with winter moving in, Copp is scrambling to prioritize our big move. “It will be next week,” he’s promising. And that could be as early as Monday or Tuesday.

Project Manager Rob Jeffrey and Architect Buell Heminway go over details with Clayton Copp of Copp & Sons Building Movers.

Here’s what to expect.

Because the building’s supporting timbers are in rough shape, Old Town House’s roof will not be saved, and Copp’s crew will remove it. The silver lining is that, without a roof, Old Town House will head south on Route 9 without any utility lines needing to be disconnected.

In order to fit within the roadbed, the Town House will be separated into two pieces. Andy Walsh, former owner of Fat Andy’s Hardwoods, used a fine-edged saw to create the first cut last Monday morning.

Andy Walsh precision-saws the first cut with Rob Jeffrey assisting.

The ultimate destination for Old Town House is 475 Walnut Hill Road, the former site of Wescustogo Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 2013. A new foundation has been poured and is waiting for the building to be set on top of new sills.

An exciting sight: a real basement takes shape for Old Town House! Foundation poured by Randy Concrete, a building partner of Robert Anderson, our sitework contractor extraordinaire.

The new basement is a huge benefit! It will become the new home for North Yarmouth Historical’s Archives, now squeezed into a small vault and workroom in North Yarmouth Fire Rescue station. Finally, precious historical records and artifacts will have a spacious and secure area for storage and expansion.

As for the new roof, trusses have been generously donated by Hancock Lumber, a partner in the Old Town House project. As quickly as possible, our project manager and his crew will hoist trusses and complete a strong new roof in order to protect the building’s interior. And then work can begin on exterior and interior refurbishing.

Trusses delivered on a rainy November 12th morning. Thank you, Hancock Lumber!

So. Keep an eye out for our announcement of date of The Big Day. We’ll put out the latest news here on our website, on Facebook, and will send it out to our email list.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. This project is being supported by generous contractors, by volunteers who have donated hours and hours to help to plan the project, and by donations from over 150 individuals and granting organizations … and counting. FOR ALL THIS, WE ARE VERY THANKFUL!