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It was a two-day trip for the house to Manannah. It left Paynesville on Wednesday via Wendell Street, south a block on Stearns Avenue, past the elementary school on Mill Street, south again on Lake Avenue (Highway 124), and then east on Co. Rd. 34, which it followed until it went south again on Co. Rd. 180. Then it crossed Highway 55 between Paynesville and Eden Valley and reached Manannah on Thursday.

To move the house, a crew from Xcel Energy disconnected or raised power lines along the route, resulting in temporary power outages along the route.

This 100-year-old house was moved out of Paynesville via Wendell Street, Stearns Avenue, Mill Street, and Lake Avenue (Highway 124). It was then taken to Manannah via Co. Rd. 34 and Co. Rd. 180.

Finding a route to take the tall house from Paynesville to Manannah proved difficult, according to Rick Rossow, the house mover who bought the house from Grace United Methodist and plans to use it for his family. They originally wanted to take the house south on Maple Street and then out on Highway 55 but a powerline that could not be moved or disconnected was too short for the house to go under.

The house has a long history in Paynesville. The lot was platted in 1886, according to the title held by Grace United Methodist Church, which bought the home and lot from Brad and Paula Lingl, the most recent tenants of the house.

No one is exactly sure when the house was built, but Eldon Hoeft, 80, knows his grandparents bought it in 1911. After his grandparents died, his aunt and uncle lived in the house until 1971.

At the time his grandparents bought the place, the three-quarter acre lot still had a barn on it. The lot runs from Highway 23 to the North Fork of the Crow River.

As a teenager in the 1930s, Hoeft would stay in the house so he could attend school whenever the roads were bad. "The roads weren't open in the winter time," said Hoeft. "Then when the roads were good, I rode the bus."

"I hate to see it go," said Hoeft. "That's the way it goes. You can't buck progress."

The four-bedroom home had a solid rock foundation, made primarily of granite. The church was eager to buy the property because it is landlocked, said Pastor Ric Koehn. "Anytime you're landlocked like we are, when property comes up for sale that's contiguous, you have to look hard at buying it," he explained.

The church, which sold the house to Rossow, has no definite long-range plans for the now empty lot. "We said, 'Let's buy it and think about what we can do with it later,' " said Koehn.

In the near term, the lot may be used as a parking lot, and eventually it could be paved. Having additional parking could allow the church to expand someday. Or having extra parking would ease the need for parishioners to park on busy Highway 23 and cross the road to get to church. "We feel it's important to offer parking," said Koehn.

The lot also provides the church with a garage and access to the river.