Morehead Hill neighbors thrilled as home they fought to save lives on

By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- Salvation comes in many forms, and on Saturday, it will involve the first of two historic houses being spared the wrecking ball, as it's moved from Jackson Street in the Morehead Hill neighborhood to its new home in Old North Durham.

The move comes after a clash between Healthy Start Academy charter school, which owned the houses and planned to demolish them to build a playground, and Morehead Hill neighbors who fought to keep the houses there.

But a buyer, Helena Cragg of Synergy Enterprises, stepped in and agreed to move the houses to lots at 1412 N. Roxboro Road, in the historic Old North Durham neighborhood, after getting the rights to move them from Healthy Start Academy.

The first house, at 804 Jackson St., is due to be moved Saturday, beginning between 6 and 7 a.m., Cragg said.

"We have spent several frantic days getting the porches and the roof off of the house," Cragg said in an e-mail Tuesday. "Our house mover started loading the house [Monday] on top of the steel beams that will hold the house during the move."

"We are happy to be able to save the houses, move them to Roxboro Road, rehab them and resell them to owner-occupants," she said in an interview Tuesday.

Plans are to move the second Jackson Street house to the same location the week after Memorial Day weekend.

The 1920s bungalows are considered historic because of their age and location in historic Morehead Hill, she said.

Each house is just under 1,100 square feet, and will get new porches and other improvements, she said.

"So far, everything has gone according to plan," Cragg said. "Now, it's up to Mother Nature to cooperate."

Cragg said the move will be just under two miles and should take about 90 minutes.

"The houses are going to sit side by side, and from the street they will look very similar," she said. "The good part is that even though we have to move them, we'll be able to move them to a similar historic district."

She said efforts to find buyers for the houses will come later. "We're just trying to get through the first part," she said.

"Feel free to get some early sleep on Friday night, brew a nice cup of java Saturday morning, and come join us on Roxboro Road early Saturday morning to watch," Cragg said. "It should be fun to watch a 30-foot house come rolling up the road."