By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The historic one-room Zimmerman School taught a lesson in patience Wednesday.
In two hours, the school had crawled almost one-third of a mile across a corn stubble field to its new home. The Wood County Park District decided to move the 1892 brick school from its home at the corner of Carter and Nelson roads to the site of the Carter Historic Farm one country block to the north.
The move was done across farm field rather than down the road.
“We don’t have to worry about wires or the traffic,” explained Neil Munger, director of the park district.
But there was nothing quick about moving the 210-ton building. As the school inched its way across the field, a skid steer kept circling it to move steel plates from the back to the front of the building so the tires did not sink into the soil. The person controlling the process sat next to the school and moved a joystick to direct the route.
The destination was a spot dug out in the field behind the Carter Farm, with the footer already there waiting. Once in place, Munger said the final tuck pointing and repair work will be completed.
“It will be better than ever,” he said.
The one-room school will be an easy trek from the farm, so kids visiting can walk to school, “just like Sally used to,” Munger said.
The building was moved by Wolfe Building Movers, of Indiana. Officials from company took one look at the structure, and said “absolutely, we’ve moved bigger things than this,” Munger said.
Bids for moving the one-room school and for making repairs at its current location helped with the decision to move. The total cost for moving the structure was estimated at $73,950. Coupled with additional project costs like moving restrooms, sidewalk construction and demolishing the old foundation, the cost was set at $88,590.
The cost for leaving it at the corner of Nelson and Carter roads was estimated at $118,510. That cost included replacing the old foundation, putting in a wider culvert, adding more parking and moving restrooms.
There was no space at the Zimmerman site for public parking when classes visited the school, making it difficult to utilize the school for public programming. When students would visit the Zimmerman site, the school buses would have to park at Carter Historic Farm and the elementary students would walk along Carter Road for a quarter-mile, with no shoulder to walk on.
The board decided moving the old school made sense financially, and for park programming.
By moving the school, the district officials hope to save money and make the historic farm and one-room school a more all-inclusive learning experience for visiting families and school children.
The parking area at the Carter Farm needs expanding, regardless of whether or not the school moves to the site. That project, which will widen the culvert onto the property, is estimated at $11,900.
