It was drizzling and still dark when the driver who would be piloting the Old Town House to its new home climbed into the truck. The oldest municipal building in North Kingstown was about to leave the site where it's been since 1807 for a new home on Boone Street near North Kingstown Free Library.
The move came about because Cranston-Murphy Funeral Home, which owned the West Main Street building, wanted to expand. Rather than tear down the building, the owners decided to pay to have it moved.
Cranston-Murphy manager Andrew Correia watched from across the street (along with a few other early risers out for the show).
"They jacked up the building and there were no problems, by the grace of God," Correia said. "Once the building was lifted up and the wheels were under it, everything was A-OK. I was very, very nervous, but everything worked out OK."
The building looked a little shorter – its roof had been removed so it could make it under trees and power lines – and sat sideways on the truck. Still it was an extremely wide load.
"It's 32 feet," said Scott Kettelle, owner of the building moving company in charge of the move. "32 feet wide is very wide to go over the road."
Kettelle, a North Kingstown firefighter, grew up moving buildings with his dad, who at 83 came out at Boone Street to watch the action.
It was a labor of love for many of those involved and for those who came out to watch the building make its big move, several said they were glad it was being saved.
Cranston-Murphy paid the $25,000 cost to move the building. It now rests on blocks on a town-owned parcel next to Wickford Elementary School that houses a playground. Once a foundation is built, the building will be used as a community meeting space.
Town historian Tim Cranston told the Providence Journal the Old Town House was built by shipbuilder William Halloway. "The roof kind of looks like an upside-down ship's hull," he said.
It was used until the current Town Hall was opened. After that, the building was used as a school, for veterans and, most recently, as a showroom for caskets.
The move Sunday morning took about three hours, just what Kettelle had predicted. The only wrench in the works was the rain, which caused the truck to get stuck a couple of times when it had to travel over grass.
By the time the building arrived at the back corner of the playground, there was a steady rain and no fanfare.
Just a simple, "We made it," from Kettelle.
The video attached shows the whole move. You can also read tweets of the move as it happened at @NKingstownPatch, hashtag #oldtownhouse.
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