Simkins house inching toward move

Date: 6/14/2010

June 14, 2010.

By Mike Briotta

PRIME Editor



HAMPDEN -- An antique home on Allen Street -- portions of which date back to the 1700s -- will soon be mostly moved to Chapin Road, according to Hampden town officials. The Simkins House at 119 Allen St., is scheduled for a roughly four-mile jaunt July 10-11, down Main Street to its ultimate destination at 377 Chapin Rd.

"It was an old historic building of some significance, purchased by the Bethlehem Baptist Church down the street," Pam Courtney, administrative assistant to the Hampden Board of Selectmen (BOS), explained.

"Changing the utilities, front and back, must be paid for by the utility company under Massachusetts state law," Courtney said, adding, "There will be outages."

Sue Bower of Hampden must pay for costs incurred in moving the house regarding police details, fire department assistance, and any other incidental costs, according to the BOS assistant.

"The purchaser will have to pay for all moving expenses except phone, power and cable," Courtney said.

The state does not hold the mover responsible for costs relating to moving electrical lines, cable lines and telephone lines. Some streets in town will be closed while the house move takes place; lines in the area will be disconnected and reconnected.

General contractor Westcott "Scott" Clark of Wilbraham will be tasked with moving the Simkins House, according to Courtney. He was unavailable for comment at press time.

According to Connie Witt, chair of the Historical Commission, only a newer portion of the building is scheduled to be moved. In this case, newer means constructed by the 1820s, in contrast to older sections of the home built in the 1700s.

"They're only really moving the front part, which is a two-and-a-half story addition," Witt said. "That is the newer part of the house. The older part would be very difficult to move. It's only held up by a few stones -- there's no foundation. They didn't feel there was a need for a foundation when they built it."

The older portions of the home, however, will not go to waste, according to Witt. "You buy something; you do with it as you please," Witt said. "In this case [future owner Bower] will probably use some of the timber from the back of the house in new construction."

Adding to the potential difficulty of moving the older portion, according to Witt, is that the older part of the house is much wider, and thus would be more difficult to transport whole; it wouldn't be as easy to place that portion on a large truck and drive it up Chapin Road.

Witt said the Simkins House is named not for its original owners -- there were many short-term owners of the house in the Victorian era -- but rather for the Simkins family that later occupied it for some 50 years. Another family, the Dickinsons, also occupied the home in the 1880s, according to the historical chair.

As a result of its many owners and longevity, the farmhouse features both Federal architectural details, like its beautiful front door, and updated Victorian elements as well.

Witt said Hampden is fortunate to keep the home within town lines; she said that similar homes have been relocated as far away as California. She also lauded the patience of the Bethlehem Baptist Church, which has been awaiting the move through numerous delays, which began in May.

According to Witt, the church actively sought a new owner who would be willing to move the house so that the Simkins House wouldn't have to be demolished to make way for a new church building.

"It's a wonderful house," Witt said. "Of course I would prefer that it sat where it is, though that was not a solution evidently. But it's staying in town, which is a good thing. We're very fortunate that it will be preserved in Hampden."

Bower said she's eager to have the main portion of the house moved to Chapin Road.

"I saw in The Reminder that it was sold to the Bethlehem Baptist Church," Bower said. "I called them up and asked them what they were going to do with the house. I was the first one to contact them looking into it, and wrote a letter basically saying that I've always loved antique homes and didn't want to move from where I am. I have 21 acres, so I'm putting it on my next 10-acre lot."

Bower added that the lot on Chapin Road already has a driveway, well and foundation on which the Simkins House will sit. She said she plans to construct a new L-shaped back to the house, replacing the old rear section, which she was told by contractors was too big to be moved.

"When it's all done, it will basically have pretty much the same footprint," Bower said. Although she said she's not yet considered the homeowner, she expects that a formal contract transferring ownership of the home from the church will be forthcoming.

"Once the home is removed from the foundation, I am the owner," Bower asserted.

She anticipates paying more than $30,000 to movers and contractors, in addition to police, fire and other related moving costs.

Bower said she is also required by the town to purchase a bond covering the transport of the approximately 10-ton house plus 17-ton rig across town roads.