Main
Administration
Police
Public Works
Parks & Recreation
Library
Municipal Authority
Fire Dept.
Township Map
Historical Commission
Zoning - Code Enforcement
Important Phone Numbers
New Trash Collection &
      Recycling Routes

Designed By:

Thursday December 6, 2001
Bucks County Courier Times

Northampton
A Lightning Move for the Spread Eagle

Many of the Spectators arrived to late to witness the relocation, which was done in half the time expected.

     As a crowd watched, the spread Eagle Inn, all 360 tons of it, was moves from Richboro's main crossroads yesterday about 120 feet down Second Street Pike.

     The Bethel-based Verling H. Wolfe contracting company moved the structure and it's supports with tractors. The move took a little more than three hours, more than twice as fast as predicted.

     The three-story building, once a stagecoach stop, stood at the corner of the Pike and Almhouse Road for two centuries.
     
   In recent years, the building, vacant for eight years, stood in the way of progress.

     Northampton Township, which owns the building, is widening the intersection to ease traffic congestion.

    Mike Cane, a staff member of CKS, the township's consulting engineering firm, said the weather played a major role in the speedy relocation that ended about 12:30 p.m.

     "It was a beautiful day and the lack of rain gave us a very solid ground to work with," Kane said. "These good conditions made the job less labor intensive."

     Jackie Liney was one of a number of disappointed residents who missed the move.

     "I left my job early and I still missed seeing it," said Liney who arrived about 2 p.m. "Now I have a T-Shirt that lies," she said, laughing. The T-shirt reads: " I was there when they moved the Spread Eagle Inn."

    Liney and another observer, Kathryn Ciaverelli of Holland, said they supported the preservation of the structure once in danger of being razed.

   "I don't care much about where they put it, I'm just glad they preserved it," said Ciaverlli, a member of the Northampton Township Historical Society. The society succesfully pleaded with the township supervisors not to tear the inn down.

    The supervisors two years ago condemned the building and land it stood on - at one time owned by Amoco.

    Township Manager Bruce Townsend said the building now stands on land owned by the Giaimo Brothers. He said an agreement is in the final stages for for the Giaimo brothers to aquire the building and the land it once stood on.

    The Giaimos operate Guiseppe's Pizza and Family Restaurant behind the Spread Eagle.

    Townsend said the pact, under which the township will be paid $825,000 over 10 years, calls for the township to refurbish the exterior of the building.

Click any link below to read Historical articles
from the Bucks County Courier Times

Group wants to preserve
86-year-old school building
Wednesday, March 31, 1999

Home Sweet Home
Sunday, April 18, 1999

The Pleasant Plains Public School
Built in 1871

People Are Flocking to Northampton
Living with Past Choices
Monday, May 24, 1999

Cornerstone Reveals Old Memories
Friday, July 23, 1999

History Set In Stone
Sunday, September 12, 1999

Landmark Restaurant to Make a Move
Friday, August 10, 2001

A Tale of Two Buildings
Monday, September 3, 2001

Spread Eagle's Move Went Well
Wednesday, December 12, 2001

'Citizen of the Month' Knows Her Town's History
Monday, April 8, 2002

Supervisors Preserve Spread Eagle, School
Thursday, April 11, 2002