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Glossary · Local Life & Customs

House moving

Campbell’s habit of moving old houses instead of tearing them down, once done with horses and wooden skids.

Several of Campbell’s landmark homes survive because they were moved. In 1933 the first Ainsley house was moved to North Third Street with horses, a capstan and twelve-foot wooden skids on rollers, a method common in Campbell because it let houses be steered through the orchards.

The Ainsley House went downtown in 1990, and in 1981 the Young-Sartorette House was cut from its foundation, turned around and moved to White Oaks Road.

Sources

Questions people ask

How were houses moved in old Campbell?

With horses, a capstan and wooden skids on rollers, so they could be maneuvered through the orchards.

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