The Scott-Barker House, a late 19th-century farmhouse built in the 1870s, is one of the few surviving examples of early rural homesteads in the region. With its simple wood frame structure, wide front porch, and surrounding heritage landscape including a hand-dug well, outhouse, and mature trees. It tells the story of early Texas settlement and family life.
As part of a larger preservation initiative, the house is scheduled to be relocated to a new site. While the move is necessary to save the structure from future threats, relocating a building with such sensitive historic context presents serious challenges, not just for the house itself, but for the entire setting around it.
The City wanted to ensure that, in moving the Scott-Barker House, they could preserve not only the architecture, but also the landscape, orientation, and outbuildings that give the site its historic character.
HosScans was brought in before the relocation to fully document the Scott-Barker House and its surroundings using our NavVis MLX mobile LiDAR scanner. The scan captured a detailed 3D point cloud of the entire property, including:
• The house structure and porch
• The surrounding topography and vegetation
• The outhouse, well, and other exterior features
• Mature tree locations, spacing, and canopy shape
• Existing walkways, grading, and surface materials
• Using this data, we developed a comprehensive as-built graphic site plan that includes scaled dimensions, site orientation, annotations, and visual references directly pulled from the LiDAR scan.
• This deliverable will support the city in:
• Planning the move with accuracy and context
• Replicating the original site layout at the new location
• Preserving the authentic look and feel of the historic homestead
• Supporting funding and communication with preservation stakeholders
While the relocation is being carefully managed, moving a 150-year-old structure always carries some risk. Should any damage occur during the process, our scan provides a precise digital backup of the home and its elements allowing for restoration to original conditions, using data-captured dimensions and materials.
The Scott-Barker House represents more than walls and wood. It’s a physical record of Texas history, complete with its cultural and environmental surroundings. By documenting the full site before relocation, the City is setting the standard for thoughtful preservation.
At HosScans, we’re proud to support this mission with cutting-edge scanning technology and expert documentation that protects not just buildings, but the stories they carry.
