Cabin country: In our move to the cabin, the cabin moved first

August 28, 2020 at 4:46AM
The place long after its move to Cedar Lake in Fairbault.
The cabin reached its final destination, on Cedar Lake. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Our 1½ story "cabin" was moved in 1979 to our lot at Cedar Lake near Faribault, Minn. The structure at the Hwy. 169 and I-494 interchange in west Bloomington became available to make room for freeway improvement. The move was made on secondary roads with police escort.

There were numerous slowdowns and stops to raise wires. The law required movement between 1 and 5 a.m. Two nights were planned, but it took only one night, with 10 minutes to spare.

The biggest obstacle was an extremely tight squeeze over a bridge 15 miles from the lake. Our lake neighbor left for work but had to turn back because the structure was coming down the road.

The spring was muddy and it was challenging to move the structure onto the lot, above the timbers for basement construction. The dedicated contractor moved all the concrete blocks for the basement by wheelbarrow.

We enjoyed our time there — and had some great fishing.

Al and Verla Kolberg, BURNSVILLE

The structure was moved to make room for highway improvements.
The structure was moved to make room for highway improvements. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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