The "Saving A Piece Of History By Relocation" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of what is known as the historic Leib House in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with my granddaughter Camille.  Talked her into trying to help me find the house in return for going to Central Market in nearby downtown Lancaster and buying half a dozen of cream-filled Long Johns which are a baked treat never to be missed if you ever find your way to Lancaster County.  

Our destination today was 322 West Woods Dr.  A friend
told me not to let the close to 30 "No Trespassing", "Keep
Out", and "Private Property" signs from getting a few photos.   

Ever since I began writing my blog over 7 years ago, I have found the history of Lancaster County to be amazing.  The Leib House is a 205-year-old farmhouse that happened to be on a tract of land that was purchased by a company that has been building houses for people over the age of 55.  

The front of the home is to the left.  Beautiful brick work
with a great wrap-around porch.  Building is in great shape.

They claim that the old house happens to be in the way of progress and had plans to demolish it. Then along came members of the family that at one time lived in the old homestead and decided that the house deserved a better fate than the wrecking ball.  

The front of the house which features two date tablets
which bear the name of the building family as well as date.

Two members of the Buckwalter family, a father and son who were relatives of the family that had lived in the home for over 40 years, approached the developers of the housing property and said they would like to move the house to their nearby property, so as to keep the house in the family.  

One of the two tablets that hold the family name
and date of construction. The stone says: Built by John Leib
in the Year of our Lord 1812.  

They obtained a price of $150,000 to move it, but that doesn't include the preparation of the new site and the building of the foundation.  The house will be given to the Buckwalters free of charge if they care to move it.  The local Preservation Trust is thrilled that the house will be saved and will continue to part of the history of Lancaster County. Well, Camille and I found the location of the old farmhouse and drove back the lane to the house.  Along the way were a few "No Trespassing" signs, but I explained to Camille that a good friend of mine who lives nearby told me it was OK to travel back the road to take a photograph.  Wasn't long before we had walked around the house, taking photographs to share, and were back in the car headed to Central Market in downtown Lancaster for our long johns.  All is good today!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.