They’d all gathered to watch and help as the historic Johnson Public Library building was moved — slowly — to its new home on a donated lot on School Street, nearly half a mile away. A banner, handpainted by local kids, was draped across the building: “Rewriting Our Story,” it read.
Like other parts of Johnson, the library had been repeatedly hit by flooding, which has worsened in recent years. Most of the time, the water would inundate only the basement. But in July 2023, floodwaters reached the main floor, destroying some 1,500 books. The building, erected in 1909, had to be gutted and essentially abandoned. A temporary library opened in September 2023 in the basement of Johnson’s Masonic Temple.
The plan had always been to reopen the historic library building. But when, how — and where — were open questions. Early last year, the library’s board learned of a grant administered by the Vermont Department of Libraries that is intended to ensure internet access for all. Library director Jeanne Engel, town administrator Thomas Galinat and library board members quickly pulled together an application and learned in the fall that they had received $1.68 million.
The money will cover the cost of moving, the pouring of a three-foot foundation and a 1,650-square-foot addition to the rear of the historic building. The extra space will include a computer lab and a private room for telehealth calls, both requirements of the grant. The front room of the library will be available for community use. The grant requires the project to be completed by December 2026, and the library will need to raise extra funds to furnish the building.
But first, the move. Late Friday night, crews put the plan — and the 115-year-old building — in motion. Supported on I beams and secured from corner to corner with steel cables, the library crept forward on six eight-wheel dollies as workers from New England Building Movers darted around to make adjustments. At one point, they had to fix a tire that blew out.
The process started slowly. The building had to make its tightest maneuver on the first turn onto Railroad Street. The one-story building of about 1,800 square feet rolled forward, then back, then forward again. Some bricks and chunks of concrete crumbled away from the base. At one point, the library gently bumped into an apartment building on Railroad Street. A lead volunteer escort, Brian Raulinaitis, had to saw a small chunk from the library’s eaves so it could fit past.
The building inched its way through the turn, and people mingled on the street, weaving through the crowd to find familiar faces. The library trustees set up a tent with food and hot drinks for the workers and volunteers. Those gathered cheered at around 3 a.m. on Saturday as the building finally straightened out, ready to approach Route 15.
Town officials had gotten permission to close the state road from 3 to 6 a.m., and it appeared they’d make the deadline; by 4:45, the library was on Route 15, and by 5, it was ready to turn onto Pearl Street. But the ensuing turn took an hour, and the building was moved off the state road just in time to avoid a fine.
As the library started to cross the Pearl Street bridge, the sky grew lighter, the crowd grew larger, and it started to rain. The bridge crossing was one of the more impressive parts of the entire spectacle. The rectangular brick building was wide enough that it hung over the railings of the bridge, and several lampposts were removed to allow it to pass. The movers also laid railroad ties across the bridge, level with the sidewalk, so that the dollies were on even ground.
In the pale early morning light, the red brick building stood out against the gray bridge and sky, and the slate roof shone light pink and green. The library was crossing over the Gihon River, the very waterway that had inundated it time and again. The hope is that it won’t, ever again.
At 10:45 a.m., the library was off the road and in its new lot, which the Lamoille North Supervisory Union transferred to the town for $10. A celebration began at 11:30 on neighboring Legion Field as the moving crew continued to adjust the building’s position. Town committees and local businesses sold food and T-shirts from tents, and library staff hosted bookmark making and a contest to guess the weight of the building.
A sign posted next to the library’s new location explained that the site work was donated by G.W. Tatro Construction and Johnson Hardware & Rental donated the equipment rentals. Two Sons bakery donated baked goods to sell at the event.
“So much of this project has been people rising to the occasion,” said Engel, the library director.
Adrienne Parker is a member of the Johnson Selectboard and several town committees. She’d volunteered dozens of hours over the past weeks to help with the project, designing T-shirts, a website and a fundraiser for the library. Moving the building was just one way of making Johnson more resilient to flooding, she noted. But the town will likely need to take other steps, such as developing more green spaces in the floodplain.
“A lot of people think that was a 100-year flood,” Parker said. “But in my mind, with climate change, I think it could happen this year, next year, whenever.”
Engel said the town “has to come to terms with the downtown flooding in the future. And this is the first step to get infrastructure out of the flood zone.”
There’s more work to be done. The library is now hoping to raise $200,000 to help furnish the building. Click here for more or to donate.
Disclosure: The author’s mother is the youth librarian at the Johnson Public Library.