Ray Simon, above, and wife Lynn have been working on the former Troutman house for months and are nearly ready to move in. The 430-ton, 129-year-old home was moved last summer from North Main to McKean Street.

After more than a year vacant and decades since it last housed just one family, the former Troutman mansion may welcome its newest tenants in the next few weeks.

Ray and Lynn Simon bought the house from Armstrong Cable last year and had it moved from 421 N. Main St. a lot that will become a parking lot for Armstrong's building next door to 406 McKean St.

"Our neighbors have gone out of their way to help us. As a whole, the neighborhood has been so welcoming," Lynn Simon said.

Last summer, Wolfe House Movers of Bernville, Berks County, lifted the 430-ton house using hydraulic unified jacks and positioned steel girders underneath.

Then, on July 26, a remote-controlled, wheeled chassis carried the home to its new address, saving the 129-year-old triple-brick Italianate Victorian landmark from demolition.

"The foundation is done except for windows and stairs. I can't wait. We are so excited. We're going to move in and just work on it as it goes," Lynn Simon said.

Though they originally planned to move into the house last September, the Simons had to contend with several delays.

"We had some delays in getting the right foundation to support the structure, then we ran into weather issues," Lynn Simon said.

After the move, the house remained supported by the steel girders which held it aloft during the move.

"A temporary foundation had to be built to support the house as the girders were pulled out. It was very labor-intensive. Normally, when you build a foundation, there is not already a house on top," Lynn Simon said.

For now, the Simons are in the house daily, painting and making repairs to plaster that cracked after the move.

"There was no damage during the move, but as the house sat on those girders all winter, it settled, then resettled on the new foundation," Lynn Simon said.

The Simons will be working to restore the home's interior during the spring and summer, concentrating on landscaping only if time allows.

"We're going to try to marry the old with the new," Lynn Simon said.

Before the move last summer, Ray Simon could be seen in the front yard, delicately lifting onto pallets the immense limestone slabs that formed a walkway to the front door. Those slabs will again form the walkway at the home's new location.

Also, the Simons plan to use stones from the home's old foundation to create a stone terrace behind the home at its new address.

"We're doing most of the work ourselves, too," Lynn Simon said.

The Simons have been contacted by television's Inside Edition, as well as several national publications regarding the move.

"It's a cool story, but I never expected it to get this much attention," Lynn Simon said.

Built in 1880 by the Joseph Colestock family, the house was bought by Butler department store moguls the Troutmans in the 1920s. It was later owned by the Butler Arts Council, which used it as an office before renting it for residential use, during which time the building was segmented into apartments.