Pre-dawn move for century-old Milton house

A century-old house that was located on the corner of Route 16 and Union Street Extended in Milton was moved in the early morning hours of March 24, making way for a new Royal Farms.

Milton property owner Jim Welu was the one who had the house moved. He’s purchased and renovated homes in town before. There have been a few on Chestnut Street, and he is currently renovating a home on Union Street, near Kings Ice Cream.

Renovating old homes is something he’s been doing for 50 years, he said. This house, he said, is in pretty good shape.

The house has been up on wheels ready to be moved for about a week. Maryland-based Expert House Movers did the work. The Friday before the move, the footing for the house was poured at the new location, which is across the street from the post office, about a quarter mile down the road.

The day before the move, Welu was milling about both properties, making sure things were in order.

He laid out the history of the house – Nathan Williams built the home in the late 1890s, where he lived in it until about 1915. Irvin and Bertha King purchased the home from Williams. They raised a family with three boys and a girl. Mary King Morgan, daughter of the Kings, lived in the house until it was sold in the mid-1970s to Stephen and Lynn Dexter. The Dexters later got the land annexed into town and sold it to Royal Farms around 2020.

Mary Morgan was a school teacher in Milton for over 30 years, said Welu. She taught just about everyone of a certain age at some point, he said.

Welu rotated the house 180 degrees. The front of the house that was facing Route 16 will now face the farm field in the back at the new location.

“Would you rather look at Route 16 or the farm field?” Welu asked.