From father to daughter, a home stays in the family

People in Plains got quite a sight Wednesday as a house moved through the streets, filling two lanes of traffic.

The house, which was originally in Thompson Falls was relocated to Paradise.

Drew Porter built the house around five years ago off of Blue Slide Road in Thompson Falls. When the family decided that the house was going to have to move, Porter’s daughter, Breyanna King, and her husband purchased it and had it moved.

“I love the fact that we’re keeping it in the family,” Porter said. “I’m real proud of Breyanna and so excited for her to be able to have this house.”

According to King, the home had to be moved because the state is re-doing Blue Side Road.

“The house was too close to the road and they are going to widen the road,” she said. “The easement was going to be in the middle of the living room, and that wouldn’t work, so the house had to be moved.”

King said she’s excited to get the opportunity to live in a house that her father built, even if it meant snarling traffic for hours.

The house took just about two days to complete its journey from Thompson Falls to Paradise, taking up nearly two full lanes of traffic and drawing a crowd everywhere it went.

Crews had to go ahead of the house to make sure power lines were out of the way and to make sure that oncoming traffic was aware of it.

“I’m sure the whole thing got some pretty interesting looks,” King said with a laugh.

The move was managed by a Abel Moving out of Missoula, which was the only company capable of moving the two-story home, King said.

Both Porter and King added that the whole thing was quite a production and it was a little neat to be the talk of the county for a few days.

“It was a real sight to see that big old thing moving down the street,” Porter said.

The Kings will be adding a basement to the house’s final resting place in Paradise before they move in.

“Right now things are just going day-by-day,” King said. “We don’t really have any sort of set timetable or anything like that, we’re just enjoying it and taking it one day at a time.”

King said that she is still somewhat in awe. “Right now it is very overwhelming and there is still a lot of work to be done,” she said.

The journey was especially poignant because her father constructed the house — a personal history that didn’t come with a price tag.

“The whole thing is just so neat and so special,” she said. “I can’t say how happy and excited I am to be able to live in a house that my father built.”