AIKEN, S.C. — Hundreds of mid-day travelers along Richland Avenue encountered a detour and approached some extremely slow-moving traffic on Feb. 16, with one of Aiken’s “vintage” homes being gingerly moved almost a mile.
The two-story wooden house, which dates back at least to 1904, was a few yards from 427 Richland Ave. N.E., on the campus of Cumberland AME Church, and spent several hours atop a flatbed trailer, en route to 230 Williamsburg St. S.E., by way of Marion Street and Park Avenue, to a freshly vacant lot within sight of the Aiken County Farmers Market. Neighbors in the immediate vicinity include Aiken Systems Unlimited, a provider of security alarms and cameras.
The house, with a goal of neighborhood beautification as part of the mix, is now to undergo several months of renovation and be offered for sale. An empty warehouse that became a boxing gym and fell into disrepair was part of the earlier landscape.
The house, as it traveled, was 28 feet tall and 32 feet wide, which meant a variety of adjustments over the course of about four hours, with chainsaws buzzing and street signs occasionally being removed for a few minutes. “We just had to trim up trees along the way and drop the power lines and communication lines,” said David McGhee, with North Augusta-based Sitec Construction. He estimated that the route covered about three-quarters of a mile.
As for the house, he added, “We hope to have it completed six to eight months from now.”
A variety of McGhees, all hip-deep in construction, helped guide the day’s activity, as David’s dad, Bill, was on board with McGhee Redux, and David’s brothers are involved as well: Jay, via Sitec; and Michael, with McGhee and McGhee.
Helping guide the truck was Bobby Forrest, with Saluda-based Forrest Movers. He helped put the project into perspective, noting, “We are the oldest and largest recycling industry in the world. This one house kept probably 50 tons out of a landfill.”
The driver, George Forrest, said the day’s chore was nothing out of the ordinary, as he dealt with mailboxes, cars and pedestrians. “My daddy started the business in 1979, and I was 9 years old. I ain’t done nothing else. It’s just part of the job.”
Bill McGhee, who has guided two similar house-moving and renovation projects in recent years, also shed some light on the day’s efforts, and noted that the house was scheduled for demolition. “We’ve saved them and renovated the other two, and they’re occupied right now, full-time, and they’re beautiful homes,” he said.
“We didn’t want to see the historic home lost,” said Beatrice McGhee, Bill’s wife. “That’s our major motivation. We love old homes. We think this one is gracious and beautiful, and we hope to keep it here … We think it helps to beautify the city, and particularly the neighborhood here, on the Northside, that doesn’t always get the attention.”
The house, currently with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, covers about 1,800 square feet. It is to be expanded to include a porch and two and a half bathrooms and include about 3,000 square feet — “spacious and great for family living,” in Beatrice’s words.
Bill said this relocation project was a little more challenging than the previous two, in terms of the amount of adjustments made along the way, and the outlook is bright. “We think it’s going to help the neighborhood,” he added. “We’ve talked to some of the neighbors down here, and they’re so glad.”
