EASTON, Md.- If you live in Easton, you may see a strange sight in the coming days: a mansion on wheels.
That's because one man is on a mission to preserve the history of what's known as the Galloway Mansion, completed in 1764.
According to Christian Neeley, the owner of the home, the mansion was constructed for the newly-married William Nicols and Henrietta Maria Chamberlaine Nicols to serve as their home in Talbot County, Md. years ago.
The Nicols and the Chamberlaine's were two prominent families Neeley says, and this house was a wedding gift.
After realizing this history, Neeley says he bought the home for nearly $500,000 dollars and plans to restore it and give it to his parents to use as a retirement home.
But according to Neeley, this "Georgian Masterpiece" is better suited for Queenstown rather than Easton.
"The land across the way I think has a 70 lot subdivision plan for it, and a Chipotle across the street--which is really great for midnight snacking but not really great for a proper English estate home," Neeley said.
But to move this home will cost nearly 1 million dollars, Neeley says, which will be funded privately through the family, but something they believe is well worth it.
The Neeley family has been in correspondence with Maryland State Highway Administration to conduct traffic studies ahead of the home's 50 mile journey from Chapel Road in Easton and then to a barge to be transported out of Easton to the Queenstown area.
According to SHA:
Monday, Sept. 9, through Friday, Sept. 13. The move will take place across multiple nights with impacts to US 50 (Ocean Gateway) and MD 322 (Easton Parkway) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Tuesday 9/10 – transport across US 50
• US 50 single-lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. At 8 p.m., westbound US 50 will be closed at Chapel Road and eastbound US 50 will be closed at MD 322. Detour signs will be posted. US 50 will be reopened as soon as the transport clears the roadway and utility lines are restored.
• Once US 50 has reopened, MD 322 will be closed between US 50 and Glebe Road. Detour signs will be posted. MD 322 will reopen by 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Wednesday 9/11 through Friday 9/13 – transport down MD 322
• MD 322 may be closed in sections during several nights depending on transport progress. Overhead utilities and traffic signals will need to be removed and reinstalled as the transport moves down MD 322. Any closures will begin no earlier than 8 p.m. and end no later than 6 a.m. the following day. Detour signs will be posted. SHA officials say the move will be conducted at night throughout multiple days to lessen the impact on traffic. Provided by SHA, listed below are the rounded traffic numbers for US 50 near Easton Airport, just west of the house move area. These are the average weekday numbers. 5 p.m. - 1,400 vehicles per hour in each direction6 p.m. - 1,200 vehicles per hour in each direction7 p.m. - 850 vehicles per hour in each direction8 p.m. - 700 vehicles per hour in each direction SHA tells WBOC, "All involved agencies (state, county, city/town) have to work together in determining if a proposed detour route can handle the anticipated volume without adversely impacting emergency response access." "While an historic house move is a bit unusual, oversize/overweight loads travel on state roads quite often and we have a good process in place to handle these requests through our Motor Carrier Division." Neeley says Maryland State Police will escort the home as it makes its journey that could take about two weeks before it gets to Queenstown.