Tuesday's Tip – Buildings Move

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

All of us seek out photos of the old family homelands – scenery, buildings, people. Historical images are the goal, but contemporary is better than nothing. In recent times, the Google satellite and street-view images have provided the distance-handicapped genealogist with a convenient tool for contemporary images of historic buildings.

But you may instead find a completely different structure at the target location or an empty lot. But it is too soon to give up, especially if the building is small and has some sort of historical significance. The building could have been moved.

Some years ago I traveled to Kanabec County, Minnesota, to visit ancestral locations and attend an extended family reunion. I linked up with a cousin who lived in that same state, though in a different county. We traveled to the location of our ancestors' old schoolhouse in the town of Coin. We saw an empty lot. Our next stop was the nearby county historical society in Mora. When we asked about the schoolhouse, they pointed it out to us. It was just next door. The building was moved there and restored. And it was open for pubic tour.

The old Coin schoolhouse. Photo provided by Richard Hanson.

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