In September 2019, Christian Neeley orchestrated a 400‑ton, 255‑year‑old Galloway House’s 50‑mile, two‑day barge voyage from Easton, Maryland to Queenstown.
The Georgian mansion, erected between 1760 and 1764 for William Nicols and Henrietta Maria Chamberlaine Nicols, had sat vacant on a 600‑acre plantation before the Neeley family bought it in 2018.
Expert House Movers lifted the structure onto a flatbed, charted a six‑mile road route that closed Route 50, then transferred it onto a barge that faced ballast issues, prompting a larger tug to assist.
After tugboats towed the barge south through the Tred Avon River, the house drifted 50 miles across the Chesapeake Bay, drawing crowds from local residents and boaters who followed the two‑story brick ship from Easton Point to Queenstown.
At Queenstown, the crew lowered the house onto a new foundation, and the Neeleys plan to add two wings while preserving the original double‑pile structure; the mansion now stands on the Wye River as a family home and heritage landmark.