Part 1 Pictorial of the Move of St. Matthews Chapel 

Bob Jensen at Trinity University 

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Hill,_New_Hampshire

Saint Matthew's Chapel in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire --- http://www.stmatthewsnh.org/

One of the most photographed churches in New England is less than a mile down the road from our cottage.
It's called St. Mathew's Chapel on Highway 117, and throughout its history this chapel meets on Sundays in the summer season using visiting Episcopal church ministers, bishops, and other volunteers.
Occasionally it also hosts weddings and funerals.

I previously posted a photoset about the interesting history of this summertime chapel (closed in 2020 due to the pandemic)
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Churches/Set02/ChurchesSet02.htm

The picture below was taken when the cornerstone was laid in 1893
Construction was completed in slightly over one year
However, over the ensuing decades improvements were made inside and outside

In the background, Cannon Mountain is to the left and the three Graces (also called Cannon Balls) are to the right.

In 2019 it was discovered that the Chapel was no longer level on its supporting pillars and was slowly slipping backward (east).
In the autumn of 2019 work to move the chapel 32 feet to the north (temporarily) while new footings could be poured
Below I present Part 1 of my photographs of this construction that was not completed until spring of 2020

But first I will go way back in history when there was a dirt road fork for in front (west) of the Chapel.
The right fork is Birches Road that went nowhere in particular.
The left fork became Highway 117 leading east down the hill two miles to historic Franconia, NH.

The path in front of the girls eventually became a boardwalk between the Chapel and the Homestead Inn
The street sign on the right marks Sunset Hill Road where there were two summer resorts and farms
We now live on Sunset Hill Road

The Chapel in 1893 was built on stone foundation.
Decades later it was jacked up and reset on wooden pillars instead of the stone foundation.
Below is a picture I took in 2019 when preparations were being made to move the Chapel (slightly)

In the photograph below you can see why New Hampshire is called the Granite State
More often than not there's granite ledge beneath the surface
This made digging deep virtually impossible before powerful excavators were invented
Even now it's common to blast the ledge into smaller pieces that can be moved

After jacking up the Chapel enormous steel beams were put (temporarily) in place
The Chapel was then moved on the beams to the north so that new footings could be poured

To this day the Chapel has no plumbing and no heating
Oh Boy!

In Part 2 I will focus on Arnold M. Graton, the bridge builder who supervised the entire moving effort
It's interesting to me, because before Erika and I purchased our retirement cottage Arnold's
father, also a bridge builder, moved our cottage from alongside a golf course to where a huge hotel had been torn down
 http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/CottageHistory/NewSite/Set01/Set01.htm 

Over its nearly 130 years various leaders kept the St. Matthew's Chapel going. The most recent great leader to do so was Barbara Serafini who grew up in the Homestead Inn and turned that Inn's huge red  barn into a popular business and museum called the Sugar Hill Sampler ---
 http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/2009/Tidbits090303.htm 
For many years Barbara played the St. Matthew's Chapel organ, lined up the visiting preachers, organized volunteers, and supervised the maintenance of the building and lawn.
Sadly our good friend and neighbor Barbara succumbed to cancer. Her huge Sampler barn now stands empty.
The Sugar Hill Sampler is closed forever. But St. Matthews Chapel will reopen once this Covid-19 lockdown is lifted.

Sunset Hill House Resort History Set 01 --- 
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/CottageHistory/Hotel/Brochure/Brochure1900.htm   

Historic Photographs (Set 01) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/01ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 02) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/02ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 03) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/03ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 04) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/2019/04ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 05) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/2019/05ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 06) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont (Golf Course)
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/2019/06ResdenSSH.htm

Historic Photographs (Set 07) of the Sunset Hill House Resort Shared by Gunsmith Ron Resden from Vermont (Golf Course)
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Resden/2019/07ResdenSSH.htm

Sunset Hill House Hotel Today (now the Inn on Sunset Hill) ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/2008/Tidbits080824.htm

Video:  The Inn on Sunset Hill (just down from our cottage) ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5cqUX0LcbU&t=9s

Part 1 of the History of the Homestead Inn Torn Down in 2015
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Hotels/Homestead/Set01/Set01.htm

Part 2 of the History of the Homestead Inn
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Hotels/Homestead/Set02/Set02.htm 

The Sugar Hill Sampler --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/2009/Tidbits090303.htm 

Set 1 photographs of other hotels near our cottage ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Hotels/Hotels.htm 

Photographs of the Mittersill Alpine Resort, New Hampshire ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Hotels/Mittersill/Mittersill.htm

Photographs of the Scenic Mountain Village of Jackson, New Hampshire ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Hotels/Jackson/Jackson01.htm

Pictorial of a Wedding at the Wentworth Country Club Resort, New Hampshire
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Hotels/Jackson/WentworthCC/Wentworth.htm

History of The White Mountains --- Set 02 (with photographs of popular mountain hotels)
 http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Mountains/HistoryWhiteMountains/02/HistoryWhiteMoutains02.htm

Photographs of the Trapp Family and Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Hotels/TrappFamilyLodge/Trapp2013.htm

Erie Canal Houseboat in New York and the Spouter Inn in Lincolnville Beach, Maine ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Hotels\ErieCanalHouseboat\ErieCanal2013.htm 

         Set 1 photographs of Houses Near Our Cottage
         Includes photographs of the dairy barn that film star Bette Davis hauled from Vermont and reassembled as her house on nearby Butternut
          http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Houses/Set01/HousesSet01.htm

Set 1 of an Ugly Prefabricated House with Great Views
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Houses/Prefab/UglyHouse01.htm  

Set 2 of an Ugly Prefabricated House with Great Views
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Houses/Prefab/UglyHouse02.htm   

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

On May 14, 2006 I retired from Trinity University after a long and wonderful career as an accounting professor in four universities. I was generously granted "Emeritus" status by the Trustees of Trinity University. My wife and I now live in a cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/NHcottage/NHcottage.htm

Bob Jensen's Blogs --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Our address is 190 Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire
Our cottage was known as the Brayton Cottage in the early 1900s
Sunset Hill is a ridge overlooking with New Hampshire's White Mountains to the East
and Vermont's Green Mountains to the West

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/