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Battle Over Revolutionary War-Era Building Could Go To D.C.

BELLMAWR, NJ (CBS) -- The ongoing saga over the fate of a house in Bellmawr, New Jersey that dates back to revolutionary times is now being taken to Washington. A South Jersey congressman is asking the feds to consider what to do about the building.

Donald Norcross has asked the head of the Federal Highway Administration to review documentation about the Hugg-Harrison-Glover House, which now sits in a cemetery but is in the path of the I-295-Route 42 rebuilding project.

Norcross says there's more than history at stake here. "We also have the added issue of can the building be moved because it is in structurally such poor condition," Norcross told KYW Newsradio.

There's also the issue of where to put it and who would pay for any relocation. Estimates have ranged from 400 thousand dollars to well north of that.

The Camden County Historical Society, which has gathered more than 2 thousand signatures on petitions to save the building, argues that house played an important role in the Revolutionary War. The New Jersey Department of Transportation says that moving the building, which is in poor condition, would be impractical and expensive. The agency also says the building does not meet federally determined standards for historic preservation.

Norcross is asking for a federal review and a face to face meeting to bring this lengthy debate to an end.

"We're trying to bring some conclusion to this," he said, "whether we're going to save it and move forward or it's the consensus that it can't be saved."

Preservationists have been saying demolition is weeks away, a claim state road officials deny, insisting no date has been set to bring the building down.

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