A creative house mover and farmer about a century ago visualized the Presumpscot River that divides Gorham and Windham as a handy highway to relocate a home.

Innovative Gorham native Morse Willis, 1872-1969, used his imagination to ease moving a house in Gorham and built a raft. His grandson, Paul Willis, pegged the date of the historic venture as the 1920s or early 1930s.

Paul Willis said the house came from the area of Daigle’s Potato Farm on Sebago Lake Road (Route 237) in Gorham.

The house was situated on a narrow entrance that prevented moving it without cutting a “tremendous amount of trees. Instead, grandfather fashioned a barrow raft, maneuvered the house onto the raft and rode the river down to Little Falls (an area of Gorham),” according to Paul Willis.

The house was floated downriver for about 2 miles, he said.

WELL-TRAVELED HOUSE

Morse Willis used his oxen to pull the house to shore on the Gorham river bank in Little Falls. Then, oxen hauled it south, his grandson said, along Route 202 to his grandfather’s farm. It was placed, Paul Willis said, on a corner of a field on Gray Road.

“It was used as a rental property for many years,” Paul Willis said.

The house hit the road again after Morse Willis sold the land the house occupied to the town to build the Little Falls School, now Gorham Recreation Department’s Little Falls Activity Center on Acorn Street.

The house was relocated to near the intersection of Canal Street and Mosher Road (Route 237) where it was resold, Paul Willis said.

Morse Willis, great-grandfather of Gorham’s Town Councilor David Willis, was widely known for his expertise in driving oxen. He packed down snow on town roads with a big roller hauled by oxen to improve sledding for sleighs before the day of plowing roads, according to historic accounts.