Moving a Habitat house in Fort Worth

In March, onlookers near Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth were treated to an unusual sight: a house rolling slowly along Seventh Street.

The Habitat home was headed for east Fort Worth’s Meadowbrook neighborhood, where last year President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalynn, country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, and hundreds of volunteers helped build 20 homes and repair 44 more during the annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

Homeowner Mary Myers pitched in during the weeklong build for her unique house, along with Trinity Habitat volunteers and more than 200 XTO Energy employees and family members. It’s the sixth year XTO and Habitat have built a home in the city’s central plaza, and the 15th time that Trinity has built and then moved a home.

Myers — who will live there with granddaughters 11-year-old Katie, 10-year-old Emily, 8-year-old Piper, 6-year-old Maddie — is ecstatic. The family of five was living in a one-bedroom apartment until she qualified for a Habitat house.

“I still think this whole thing is a dream,” she says. “I’m amazed that we will have our own yard, and I am so thankful I can feel safe with the girls playing outside.

“Everything will change. We’ll be able to save for emergencies and feel more stable. I feel so blessed.”