Whatever you call it, it's a house in Buxton at the intersection of Routes 22 and 112, across from Plummers' stores, that's been sawed in two.

Sanford Institution for Savings bought the property for construction of a new building for their Buxton branch. The existing house did not fit their plans, so a party who was planning to build a new house, but prefers old houses, saw an opportunity.

Dennis Morin, a building mover from West Newfield, explains, "There's a mural that's been in that house for about 150 years, painted by someone who was famous for doing murals, but that isn't the reason they're moving the house. Sanford Institution for Savings sold them the house, I believe for a dollar, just to get rid of it. The people who bought it will come out a lot better. And they like old houses."

The house is going to be moved about mile up Route 22 to a location near the Buxton Post Office. Morin says, "The ell had to be cut off because it wouldn't go up the road. It would be too wide, so we'll move it in two sections."

Removing the roof also helps with one of the most troublesome aspects of this kind of operation; the web of wires telephone, electric, cable tv over modern roads.

"Years ago," Morin reminisces, "we could go ten, fifteen miles an hour, but with wires involved your going to have the phone, cable and CMP people with their trucks out there holding wires up, pulling wires out of the way, and dropping wires."

Anyone interested in seeing a sawed-in-two, roofless house traveling about 1 mile per hour over a major roadway, could have seen it on May 11.