PALMYRA -- Charlie W. Randall, 81, watched Wednesday morning as the tractor-trailer truck pulled away the white, two-story building that his great-grandfather, Charles A. Leavitt, helped to build.

The Palmyra Grange Hall, built in 1896, was pulled away on dollies, about 900 feet down Route 2, and set down on beside a new foundation. There, the grange hall will be used as a home for resident and state legislator Dean Cray.

The grange was moved to make way for a new Saint Martin's Episcopal Church. The church gave the building to Cray at no cost -- it would have been torn down otherwise -- and Cray will pay more than $50,000 for the building move.

Randall, who joined the grange in 1942, fondly recalls seeing three-act plays and other events inside the building. Randall said he helped install roof shingles on the building in 1943.

"I'm glad to see they're not tearing it down," he said, smiling.

Randall was among hundreds of townspeople who turned out from 10:30 a.m. to noon to watch the grange hall moved. That portion of Route 2 was closed and cars were parked up and down the road. The scene had the feel of a traditional town parade, as children played in snow and their parents held up digital cameras to photograph the slowly moving building.

Cray said his acquisition of the building was sudden. He and his wife, Darlene, had intended to build a new house in town soon; they own about 50 acres of land off Route 2, just down the road from the church. Rep. Cray is the District 28 state representative, for Canaan, Cornville, Hartland, Palmyra and St. Albans.

The grange hall has been used for many functions over the years, including the town library and for literacy programs and Head Start, and as a parish hall for the church.

In April 2006, the Episcopal church, built in 1838, was destroyed in a fire. Work began in May last year to rebuild a new church and parish hall inside of it. The new church is expected to be finished in the coming week or so.

The grange hall remains in good structural condition, said Bernard Williams of Pittsfield, a junior warden for the Episcopal church who is responsible for buildings and maintenance.

"It's a win-win situation for everybody," Williams said. "The building gets saved and we don't have to pay to have it torn down, hauled off and put in a landfill somewhere."

Cray said he and his wife plan to rehabilitate the building and live on the 2,200-square-foot first floor and restore the second floor. They hope to move into their new home in June.

"It'll be real nice," Cray said of the grange as his home. "It's a good living space, but it's way bigger than what we needed."

Cray hired Nelson Construction Building and Moving to move the building on Wednesday, while crews from Central Maine Power moved utility lines out of the way. Maine State Police provided traffic control.

The most difficult part of the move lasted about 40 minutes, at the start of Cray's property, as the truck and house crossed over a ditch, which contained detached utility lines, and under a 7,200-volt power line that was hoisted up by CMP workers in bucket trucks. Steel plates and wood timbers were placed over the ditch to prevent the truck and dolly wheels from getting stuck.

The entire move lasted a little more than an hour.

"I like the challenge," said Jeremy Nelson, owner of the moving company. "This is the largest one I've done."

For Cray, reusing the grange hall is also a chance at historic redemption. Cray owns the town Post Office and said he received some criticism when he chose to tear down the old post office nine years ago and build anew.

Doreen Roberts, 52, a lifelong Palmyra resident, turned out to watch the building move and said she is "very happy we're not losing the building."

"This was a big historical event for Palmyra." Roberts said. "And it couldn't have been a better day."