Walter A Sheaffer Moves Huge Tree On Rollers

[ashbridg]

Walter Sheaffer moved a 60-foot maple tree, with a root ball that’s 30 feet wide, to his front yard. He gives a detailed account of the move in his autobiography. But pictures of the tree are missing. (Whether they are in the original manuscript at the Cattermole Library in Fort Madison, I don’t know).

 

Popular Mechanics has the photos in their 1932 article on moving the tree:

http://books.google.com/books?id=XOIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA438&dq=sheaffer&hl=en&ei=a2RoTqOHNIHEgAejt8zmDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDgQ6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q=sheaffer&f=false

 

Sheaffer says of the tree moving project, “It was one of the hardest jobs and one of the most baffling I had ever undertaken.” And I thought his vacuum-actuated ink filling system was baffling.

Ashby

[DrPJM1]

Nice find. It has been reported before but the logistics of moving such a large tree to the top of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi still baffle me.

It is also sad that his house lay abandoned and that the tree is no more. The house has new owners intent on restoration. Where's Bob Vila?

http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy241/DrMonzon/IMG_4073.jpg

[ashbridg]

That’s a wonderful photo. Did you take it at the Sheaffer Museum’s grand opening? And what a heartbreak that the maple tree is gone. It has such a unique history.

 

I’ve been looking for a good picture of the house. Tudor revival is one of my favorite architectural styles. It’s interesting that the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, not for its architecture, but for Sheaffer’s personal achievements (most other properties on the Register are listed in an architectural category). I know the house is privately owned. Do the owners ever open it for public tours? Houses of that style often have interiors loaded with hand carved wood and stone. Sheaffer’s house is probably no exception. They will need an army of Bob Vilas to fix up that place (and a bank account the size of Fort Knox).

Ashby

[Roger W.]

The house did not sell for a ton of money. It is currently under restoration and is not toured in a formal sense. The swimming pool and tennis courts are gone too. Many of the details from the original house are intact. The molding details would be very expensive to recreate. The third floor ballroom is in good condition and is a real highlight of the house. The Chauffeurs house needs a lot of work. Craig Sheaffer's house was built shortly afterwards right next to this house and is privately owned (Craig's house is on the blueprints of Walter's house). Other Sheaffer's still live on this same street.

 

Roger W.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Roger W.

[ashbridg]

I wonder if putting the ballroom on the third floor was a practical decision, maybe to keep it from interfering with the living area. Tudor houses were popular with successful businessmen in the roaring 20s. The style can be obnoxious when overdone. But I like Walter Sheaffer’s house. It shows the conservative good taste I would expect from him. Thank you Roger W. for the interesting details.

 

Could unstable soil be a reason for the loss of the big maple tree? Sheaffer writes a lot about soil problems and his fear of the front yard sliding into the Mississippi River. He trussed his yard together with steel rods and turnbuckles. In his Life Story he leaves detailed instructions for future generations so they will know what kind of stabilizing hardware is in the ground and how to handle it. Sheaffer says the front yard cost almost as much as the house.

 

Sheaffer's accomplishments in soil related projects are impressive. He moved his first house to a new spot further from the river bank, he stitched the yard together with cables on his second house, moved a huge tree into his yard on rollers, and found the original Fort Madison under the parking lot of his pen factory. It seems he was as much a landscape engineer as he was a pen maker.

Ashby

Edited September 12, 2011 by ashbridg

[pengoddess]

Nice find. It has been reported before but the logistics of moving such a large tree to the top of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi still baffle me.

It is also sad that his house lay abandoned and that the tree is no more. The house has new owners intent on restoration. Where's Bob Vila?

 

Just to clarify a little.

 

The more I think about moving that tree, while quite the undertaking, I'm not sure if W.A. may have made the story sound a little better than it really was. He had a habit of doing that. Yes, the tree had to get up to the bluff, but there is a back way in via the the River Road (aka Hwy 61) that takes you up the hill gradually and then another pretty level road curves back to all of the homes on the top of the bluff. All of the roads would have been pretty rough, but the indirect route would not have involved the steep incline road that is used to get to to the bluff today.

 

The W.A. Sheaffer home on High Point is not even close to being abandoned and is actually in very good hands. The owners are well respected in the community and active participants in local historic preservation efforts. They are also owners of a multi-faceted construction company. Well qualified to restore W.A.'s home from both the historical and construction standpoints. They're doing the restoration slowly and correctly.

 

The outside of the home, when the current owners purchased it was in relatively good condition, it's the inside of the home and the infrastructure that makes it run that is requiring an amazing amount of work. It didn't help that the last owners allowed their BIG cats to roam around inside, it was not a pretty sight.

 

Sam

[pengoddess]

Could unstable soil be a reason for the loss of the big maple tree? Sheaffer writes a lot about soil problems and his fear of the front yard sliding into the Mississippi River. He trussed his yard together with steel rods and turnbuckles. In his Life Story he leaves detailed instructions for future generations so they will know what kind of stabilizing hardware is in the ground and how to handle it. Sheaffer says the front yard cost almost as much as the house.

 

Sheaffer's accomplishments in soil related projects are impressive. He moved his first house to a new spot further from the river bank, he stitched the yard together with cables on his second house, moved a huge tree into his yard on rollers, and found the original Fort Madison under the parking lot of his pen factory. It seems he was as much a landscape engineer as he was a pen maker.

Ashby

 

Unfortunately, I don't believe unstable soil had nothing to do with the maple tree. Erosion on the bluff is a continuing problem on High Point and not only the Sheaffer homes, but most other homes there, too. In recent years most have had to work on stabilizing the bluff their homes are built on. Excessive rains take their toll on the bluff, but more of a problem are the trains that have been running along the bottom of the bluff on a narrow strip of land between bluff and river. The trains were coming through this area long before anyone even thought of trying to build a house there. They shake everything loose!

 

The first home that W.A. bought in 1914 in Fort Madison is on the original building site. He rented two other homes prior to purchasing a home in Fort Madison. The first one is 6 blocks from the river and I've never heard tale of it being moved and it would have been of almost equal difficulty as moving the maple tree - 6 long blocks uphill to just below another bluff in town. The second rental is on original building site.

 

Sam

[ashbridg]

The first home that W.A. bought in 1914 in Fort Madison is on the original building site. He rented two other homes prior to purchasing a home in Fort Madison. The first one is 6 blocks from the river and I've never heard tale of it being moved and it would have been of almost equal difficulty as moving the maple tree - 6 long blocks uphill to just below another bluff in town. The second rental is on original building site.

 

Sam

Sam, always good to hear your insights. I took Sheaffer’s comment about moving the previous house from his Life Story. Here’s the quote: After having moved the big tree at Fort Madison and after having moved our first house on the hill because the earth had begun to slip off, we thought we had set our new home far enough back so that it would never be bothered by any slides. He goes on to blame the railroad for not rip-rapping the hill and also blames the new dam for water ponding up over the tracks.

 

But on second thought, in light of what you said, I wonder if Sheaffer meant to type “after having moved from our first house” instead of “after having moved our first house.” It’s an easy error to make and he does leave out words, which is pretty typical of any original manuscript.

 

If the house was brick, and he did move it, I would agree with you that it equals the tree move in terms of difficulty. Frame buildings, though, are fairly easy to move, just jack them up and put them on a trailer. Brick houses, well, not so easy. I’m sure the new owners will do a good job. Those old Tudor mansions are built like fortresses. They just need to be modernized every hundred years or so. It’s worth the effort in my opinion.

Ashby

[csell]

Hello,

I just found this site and the Popular Mechanics article about the moving of the tree. Unfortunately, neither source credits the person who undertook and engineered the move of this huge tree: Clifford Thomann of Middletown, Iowa, my grandfather. This feat was legendary in our family lore, as it also was in W.A.Sheaffer's own story. Both before and after this undertaking, Grandpa made his living moving houses, first with draft horses, and later with trucks. Somewhere we have some old photos of the tree project. I'll look for them and post as soon as possible.

[Roger W.]

Hello,

I just found this site and the Popular Mechanics article about the moving of the tree. Unfortunately, neither source credits the person who undertook and engineered the move of this huge tree: Clifford Thomann of Middletown, Iowa, my grandfather. This feat was legendary in our family lore, as it also was in W.A.Sheaffer's own story. Both before and after this undertaking, Grandpa made his living moving houses, first with draft horses, and later with trucks. Somewhere we have some old photos of the tree project. I'll look for them and post as soon as possible.

Very cool - thanks for posting!

 

Roger W.

[AAAndrew]

Hello,

I just found this site and the Popular Mechanics article about the moving of the tree. Unfortunately, neither source credits the person who undertook and engineered the move of this huge tree: Clifford Thomann of Middletown, Iowa, my grandfather. This feat was legendary in our family lore, as it also was in W.A.Sheaffer's own story. Both before and after this undertaking, Grandpa made his living moving houses, first with draft horses, and later with trucks. Somewhere we have some old photos of the tree project. I'll look for them and post as soon as possible.

 

By all means, post the photos! Another missing piece of history is found. (your grandfather's name) And add the pictures and any of the family legends about the move, and we are all richer for it.

[CS388]

What a great story, thanks for sharing.

 

csell: Wow. Hope you find the photos. Nice get your grandfather's name back into limelight.