Yes, that was a house moving between Sycamore and DeKalb
Northern Public Radio | By Jenna Dooley
Published October 22, 2024 at 2:33 PM CDT
It wasn’t your imagination if you saw a one-story home on wheels moving slowly through DeKalb Tuesday morning.
It’s part of a project with the DeKalb County History Center and Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County.
The move has been in the works for over a year.
Michelle Donahoe is the Executive Director of the DeKalb County History Center. She says the home was originally a “hired man’s house” when the site was a farmstead.
“This is where people would live and work — helping out with the livestock and also seasonally,” Donahoe said. “And when it became the History Center, obviously it wasn’t needed for that work anymore. And when we first moved out here, that’s where our office and archives were.”
In 2019, the History Center moved to a new facility. The home sat vacant and was set for demolition.
Donahoe said that’s when she talked with Kim McIver, the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County. The process involved getting permits as well as lining up the logistics. McIver says she got emotional finally seeing the home on the move.
“We’re just very excited that we’re able to preserve this home,” McIver said. “I think that the walls tell stories, and those stories are now going to be shared with the partner family that is going to be moving into this home after we do a remodel of it. I think it’s a wonderful partnership, and it shows the importance of the community here in DeKalb County and how we look after one another.”
Heaven Allen is the new homeowner. She says watching her new home on the move was emotional for her, but she’s excited.
“There were a lot of jokes,” she said, “like, ‘Will it stay? Did they tie it down?”
She says she has already seen the interior.
“It had that very historic feel on the inside, and really trying to preserve a couple things in there,” she said, “so it keeps that history, but with also this touch of modern and my touch, and so it’ll be really fun to see that blend come together.”
Allen expects to be able to move in during the spring.