A “Flush” with History in Rockport
Moving a house is always an adventure, but our latest project in Rockport, Indiana, turned into a scene straight out of a bizarre history book. We’ve officially started the process of moving the home located right behind Obermeier Hardware, and while we expected some dust and dirt, we were not prepared for a record-breaking discovery.
“I Have Never Seen Anything Like This”
When you’re moving a structure, you hire the best in the business. For this job, we brought in Nathan Adams from Ohio Valley Moving & Rigging. Nathan is a veteran in the industry, having moved over 400 houses throughout his career. He’s seen it all—or so he thought.
Earlier this week, Nathan gave Jenny a call with a tone of voice that suggested she needed to get to the site immediately. When she arrived, he pointed toward the crawl space and made a stunning confession: “I have moved over 400 houses and I have never seen anything like this!”
A Porcelain Surprise in the Crawl Space
To the absolute disbelief of everyone on-site, the original homeowner didn’t use gravel, dirt, or standard fill to level out the crawl space. Instead, they used thousands of toilets. That’s right—the entire space beneath the house was packed with porcelain! It seems the previous owner may have found a very creative (and heavy) way to recycle.
The Pottery Factory Connection
How does one even acquire thousands of toilets? Rockport has a rich industrial history, and we have a pretty strong theory. We suspect the original owner either:
- Worked for the local pottery factory in town.
- Knew someone who did and had access to the “seconds” or broken pieces.
Instead of the factory disposing of the scrap, it seems it was diverted to serve as the foundation fill for this home. While it’s certainly an effective way to fill a void, it definitely gave our moving crew a laugh they won’t soon forget.
It just goes to show: in the world of home renovation and relocation, you never truly know what’s holding a house up until you take a look underneath!
