Workers were busy Tuesday moving the historic old church building from Lorain and Barton roads to its new home near the Frostville Museum in the Cleveland Metroparks. Officials reported no problems as the move got underway. (Photo by Larry Bennet.)

Move of historic church underway
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published June 22, 2005

A grand old structure was moving into a historic neighborhood Tuesday with a police escort and lots of curious onlookers.

Workers were moving the historic church building — which has housed several denominations since being built in the early days of the Olmsted settlement — from its longtime location at Lorain and Barton Roads to its new home near the Frostville Museum on Cedar Point Road in the Metroparks. The church, which was built by Methodists in the 1840s, was donated by its previous owner, the Holy Resurrection Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to the Olmsted Historic Society which operates the Frostville Museum.

"We're very excited about this," said Laurie Kubiak, chairwoman of the committee which spearheaded the move. "A lot of people have been working very hard on this."

Historic society officials plan to place the structure near the museum and continue the refurbishing and preservation work. Society officials have been working hard on the plans while also gathering historic data pertaining to the church.

As West Life went to press, North Olmsted Police Department officials said Tuesday morning getting the move started was taking a little longer than expected since initial plans were for it to be underway by 9 a.m.

"There's no mechanical problem, they're just making sure everything is set up properly," Capt. Kevin Whelan said. "They want everything connected properly because it's an old building and they don't want anything going wrong with it."

Officials planned for the structure to go from Lorain Road to Brookpark Road, on to Columbia Road and finally down Cedar Point Road to its new home. Historic Society and construction workers on the project estimated it would take two to three hours to move the structure.

Whelan said the department has been making provisions for the move since the date was set last week. Officials held a pre-move meeting Monday afternoon to finalize plans.

"We send cruisers along to make sure things go smoothly and make sure there are no safety problems along the way," Whelan said. "The workers going along with the building will move the power lines when there is a need."

The department has dealt with moving buildings before, Whelan said, but this was an unusual event.

"When they were doing city hall, they moved a lot of old brick buildings from Dover Road, so we went along on escort for them as well on those moves to make sure they got it done without damaging those buildings," Whelan said.

Ward 2 Councilman Paul Barker, a longtime member of the city's Landmarks Commission, said he's glad the structure is being preserved.

"From a historical perspective, I'm very happy it's being saved," Barker said. "It's an important part of our heritage. I'm glad people will have the chance to see it in a historical setting."

Barker said many groups worked together to help save the building. He cited the hard work of the historic society, various volunteers and workers on the project, city groups and council passing legislation in April pertaining to the move. Although it was prior to his appointment to council, Barker said council's waiving of several thousand dollars in fees for the move made the project easier for the historic society to handle financially. Cost estimates for the project have been around $60,000.

Members of the historical society began working on the move last year. Officials believe the building is probably the last historic structure from the time period when it was built. Kubiak has said it was one of the first churches built in the Olmsted settlement area.

Amos Briggs, an early settler whose home is preserved at the Frostville site, built the church. Two other pioneer families, the Nelsons and Carpenters, were responsible for bringing the Congregationalist denomination to the church. Officials also believe the church was part of the Underground Railroad network which funneled escaped slaves to freedom in the North.