NEW ALBANY, Ind. — A historic house in New Albany was moved Thursday - but just around the block.
The Smith-Phillips Farmhouse on Charlestown Road was built in 1860 for the son of Floyd County pioneer Martin Smith. The Phillips family, who purchased the home in 1941, sold it to Northside Christian Church in 2000. Until earlier this year, the church used the farmhouse as an office space.
It was once threatened with demolition, but Thursday morning, the two-story, 185-ton brick house was loaded onto a wheeled platform and relocated to its new home on Lewis A. Endres Parkway.
The building will be donated to the nonprofit Indiana Landmarks, which will find it a new owner to rehabilitate the home for commercial use.
"It's not every day, certainly, to move a 185-ton brick house, but it does happen from time to time," said Greg Seckula with Indiana Landmarks.
Hogan Real Estate President Justin Phelps said the move was an example of how historic preservation and new developments can work together.
The space where the house was located will soon be home to a Starbucks and a proposed regional bank, according to Indiana Landmarks.
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