A Neighborhood Landmark Moves
And Escapes the Wrecking Ball
Marvon "The Farmer" McKinney's House
Moved to George Mason Drive
Early on the misty morning of Sunday, September 24, 1995, Marvon McKinney's
house was moved from 4515 Fourth Street South (at Wakefield) to the rear of
the house at 379 South George Mason Drive.
The move was a major neighborhood event. About 50 people watched and followed
as a crew of "just some guys" who had never moved a house before towed the
house down Fourth Street and across George Mason. Aside from a sloppy
job of removing limbs from the oak across the street from Marvon's, a
couple of bent signs and some scrape marks on the new George Mason pavement,
the move was accomplished without major damage, except that Marvon's precious
grass is history.
The visionary who made all this come about was Bobby Jones, who
recognized the quality construction of Marvon's house under the layers
of old carpet and peeling paint. (Marvon's pride was his garden--his
house was no match for it.) Mr. Jones was rewarded with a "free" house with
hardwood floors, oak trim, a cedar closet, a new roof with 50 year shingles and solid enough
construction to weather being jacked up and moved without even a broken
window. The cost of the move was estimated at only $8,000, and Mr. Jones now has
an addition for his home with real Barcroft character. When we asked about
his plans for fixing it up he said he had not gotten to that part yet.
A concrete slab under Marvon's back porch had 1933 scratched on it, but the
house itself may have been older. The day before the move, a long-time Barcroft
resident was prowling sadly around the site bemoaning the pace of change in our
neigborhood. When she was a little girl neighborhood kids whispered rumors that
Marvon was "The Cat Killer" who trapped cats who dug in his garden and threw
their bodies up on the roof of his house. After her cat disappeared she had
actually gone up on Marvon's roof to see for herself! The rumors probably
had no foundation at all. Marvon would never have thrown a smelly dead cat
up on his roof.
Life goes on. Marvon's question now would be what will happen to the
garden soil he worked so hard for so many years to perfect. He cared a
lot more for that dirt than for the house.
This page was last revised on: September 15, 2000.
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