PennDot first contacted owner Ron Wing last fall and contracted for the purchase of the house and some land.

When Harry Warner was small, he recalls that there was a 'cellar' off the kitchen, which was "actually an unfinished room about 6X10 that was used as cold storage for food. We had an actual ice box (that you put ice in) for a few years before the electric was installed. The kitchen was later extended to use much of that cellar. Much of the year water would run down the stone wall in that area. There was another small room called the cellarway off the dining room, used as a pantry for canned goods. I don't know why it was called a cellar 'way' as it didn't go anywhere. It was lined with shelves."

Wing contacted the historical society, and also asked some Amish to look at the feasibility of moving the structure. All efforts initially had the same result: the cost to move the building made the effort prohibitive. Over the years, the house has been used as a private residence and as an antique shop.

In case you aren't sure what an "open-grate deck bridge" is, the photo on the right clearly shows the top of the existing route 239 bridge. One of the advantages of the surface is that snow falls directly through, although when sited on a curve in the road, the bridge can be slippery in rain or snow.

This open-grate deck bridge was built in 1932 and rehabilitated in 1954. This was one of several open-grate deck bridges in the Benton area, including a second bridge over West Creek at the West end of the Borough of Benton. In the Williamsport area, the Market Street bridge and the Arch Street bridges are open-grated bridges.

As all local drivers know, the approach to the bridge is dangerous, although we are only aware of one accident at the bridge. The bridge replacement should straighten out the curve, shave off part of the hill and lower the road by four feet.

The bids for the construction of the new bridge will be opened April 8, construction will begin mid-June, with construction finished in late October, 2004.

The existing bridge is 53 feet long, 24 feet wide, and is posted for 20 tons, with combination up to 25 tons.

Harry Warner, Akron, Ohio, provided some of the history of the house. The house was owned by Norton Cole and Harry can trace its history back to 1936 when Raldo and Thelma Warner moved in after being married earlier that year. Harry cannot trace the history of the house before that. Harry recalls that the end nearest the creek was over a hundred years old and remembers that rooms had plank walls when Raldo put in an archway between the living room and dining room in the early 50's.

Raldo and Thelma lived there until Norton Cole died in 1962. The house remained empty until sold after Thelma's death in '64. Harry recalls that the house was rented when the Benton Radar Station was active.

Raldo and Harry installed electrical service about 1952 and had used kerosene lights and battery-powered radios prior to that, Water was carried by the bucket from a hand-dug well via a hand pump on the back porch. An electric pump was installed sometime after Harry left for the Air Force in 1956. Hot water was never installed that Harry knew about. As Harry was growing up, there was only one faucet in the kitchen. An outhouse on the bank at the edge of the woods served all the occupants who lived there from a pit Harry grudgingly dug in the 1950s. Harry recalls that as a child he had a specially sized and lower-level seat "because no one wanted to have to pull me out."

The house is so close to the road that from the north end of the porch the family could step directly onto the macadam. On the second level, Harry could step out of his bedroom window and be in the woods.

The open-grate deck bridge was built in 1932, and we are attempting to find a picture of the covered bridge that was there before that. Harry always enjoyed watching the road crew dig out the tar covered planks ("4 by 10"s") and replace them when they rotted out. The bridge was always dangerous as there was a negative crowned curve coming down the hill that tended to throw cars across into the wrong lane. There was a stone abutment on each end of the bridge that was about three feet above ground, three feet wide and 8 or 10 feet long. Harry "remembers a few accidents, especially when excessive speed, and/or drink and/or slippery road was involved. The steel railing was always bent and scratched on the house side. The steel grating that was installed in 1954.

Harry's favorite memory of the bridge is of Norton Cole as he crossed the bridge every night just after 5 PM and around noon on Saturdays when he closed the mill for the day.

Hours were spent Thursday, February 26, trying to move the house. It was finally determined that several beams under the foundation of the house were solidly dug into the hill. A chain saw finally sawed through the beams and the house was free to move from its foundation. Before the move began, however, two large raccoons made a hasty exit from under the house.

Benton resident Allen Hess didn't get very excited about the move. He came to look at what was going on, saying "I just came to watch it move. I didn't have anything else to do. This was the action around town for now."