Gold miner's cabin moves to NGCSU.
DAHLONEGA, Ga. (WXIA) -- When a prospector built a small cabin on the site of the first gold rush in the country 180 years ago, he probably never imagined his humble home motoring through the streets of Dahlonega. But Alice Sampson did have that vision.
She's the Director of the Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College and State University. For three years since it was donated, she's been planning to move the small log cabin from where it sat on private property.
"We don't call this a building, we call it a museum artifact, we call it a teaching tool, a historic piece," Sampson said. "It represents those who were living in a very small space, with very few resources at a time when people were trying to advance themselves."
Some would be a little nervous about towing a 150 year old piece of history with their truck. Not David Looper -- his company, Looper's House Movers, has relocated several older buildings, one over 200 years old.
He and his team "braced" the cabin over a period of several days. It was stripped of its kitchen, chimney and roof for the move. Then they reinforced the structure with chains, beams and extra screws.
"Practice practice practice, we braced it to where I wasn't worried at all," Looper said. "You can't over-brace a 150 year old building, it's just not possible."
Now that it's in place, Sampson will develop a plan for studying her new historical site. She also plans to build a stage in front of the cabin for cultural events.