Oberlin, Kan. ? A 117-year-old church building has been moved about 20 miles from its home in Norcatur to Oberlin, where it will become part of the Decatur County Museum.

Services have not been held at St. Mark Lutheran Church since 1984, about 100 years after it was built in Norcatur.

Moving the church required power lines to be lifted so the church could pass.

The move began Wednesday but was halted on the outskirts of Oberlin when it was decided it was too hot to turn off electricity to about 300 people for up to two hours. The move resumed Thursday morning and the church arrived at the museum early in the afternoon.

The church joins 13 other buildings at the museum, which, among other things, tells the story of the last American Indian raid in Kansas.

About 1 1/2 years ago, Lee Eckhart and Bee and Bill Nelson agreed to donate the church to the museum. Both Lee Eckhart and Bill Nelson, who had maintained the building since the last service was held, have since died.

Utility workers raise power lines over U.S. Highway 36 on Wednesday while a worker guides the driver underneath as they move St. Mark's Lutheran Church from Norcatur to Oberlin.

“We knew we needed to do something with it, so we offered it here,” Bee Nelson, the church’s last remaining board member, said from inside the museum Wednesday. “We know it will be restored. Financially, we couldn’t restore it.”

The museum will have to do some work on the church, including painting it and adding a new roof.

“We figured the move was going to be around $20,000 to $25,000,” said Sharleen Wurm, director of the museum. “And the restoration would be that much plus. We’re going to appreciate any donations.”

The church steeple, taken down for the move, also needs to be restored.