SNOW HILL, Md.- The historic Mt. Zion schoolhouse in Snow Hill was moved to Furnace Town early Thursday morning.
After four hours on the road, at around 5 a.m. the single-room building arrived to Furnace Town at the corner of Millville and Old Furnace roads.
The house could not make it over one of the bridges, so crews stopped for a few minutes to lift the structure. On the other end of the street was Melissa Bacon, who waited anxiously with her camera.
"This is a once in a lifetime thing to see this coming, and I was just very excited," Bacon said. "I've been taking bookoo pictures."
When the sun came up, her view was even better. The 19th century building was built in 1870. It was moved near Snow Hill High School decades ago and stayed open until the 1930s or 1940s, according to Barry Laws, president of the Worcester County Historical Society.
The organization raised $95,000 to refurbish and move the building. Laws said it was not doing well in its old location.
"It was used as a one-room school museum, but it just was not very successful in attracting kids to come to it," Laws said.
At its old home, Laws said the building was not surrounded by much, nor did it have the proper facilities like a bathroom. Laws expects students to really enjoy their time at the new location.
"It will be a great things for kids to see what it was like in the old days," Laws said. "We have a dunce cap, we have a dunce chair."
The school also has a stove that kept the class warm. Expert House Movers, a company based out of Sharptown, Md., moved the schoolhouse to a lot off Millville Road in the village. The roof and building were separated, but will be reassembled Friday.
The outdoor living museum is open April 1-Oct. 31.
Laws said the organization will seek retired teachers to teach students about the earlier days in the schools like Mt. Zion.
