Emma White — the local resident who commissioned the Robinson-Pavey home on Highland Avenue in Washington C.H. to be moved — shared an update on the project Thursday and expressed her gratitude for the community’s support.
Earlier this week, White said Dingey Movers, the company hired to move the home, commented about the possible inclement weather for Tuesday and delayed the move a few more days to hopefully have better weather, and additionally, receive a permit from the state to move the house on State Route 41 due to its sheer size and weight. On Thursday though, White said the movers would be planning for an early Sunday move date, as approved by the state.
“I am going to be at the house early on Sunday before myself and a few others will go out to the site and await the call that the house is making it,” White said. “The community has been very supportive of all of this. Craig Breedlove planned the layout, Merv Coulter helped me to acquire the house, and Paul LaRue even provided information about the house and an old photo from when the house withstood a hurricane that destroyed part of the town. One thing we are hoping for from the community is old photos of the house that we can frame and put in there when it is finished. It keeps a lot of people involved and we hope to get more information as time goes on.”
According to White, 82 power lines will need to be raised or lowered as the house travels down State Route 41 leaving town to go to its new location: 1733 State Route 41 Southwest in Washington C.H. Overall, the house is 36 feet tall with the wagon underneath it. White also said a few trees will need to be trimmed along the road, but these are being handled by the movers.
“I also want to let the church people know that the road will be blocked,” White said. “Use Elm Street and keep in mind it will probably be blocked when they let out of church. We are hoping to avoid a lot of the traffic starting as early as we are.”
North Folk Holdings took ownership March 6 of a 1.33-acre site at 403 W. Court St. that will be developed into the new Sonic drive-in restaurant. North Folk Holdings operates 35 Sonic drive-ins, primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, said Jake Stauffer, a partner at North Folk Holdings, Inc., in a phone interview earlier this year with the Record-Herald.
The Robinson-Pavey home was featured in the Friday, Aug. 25, 1978 edition of the Record-Herald where author Dr.Allen D. Griffiths detailed the history of the house, dating back to the beginning of its construction in 1848. The first owner, John H.Robinson, who was born in New York in 1821, continually built onto the “Gothic Revival” style home until 1860 and, Griffiths wrote in his article, that the home appeared to be the oldest Gothic Revival house in the county.
