ESCONDIDO -- The soul of the American Folk farmhouse is at least 110 years old, but much of the structure itself isn't a day over six months.

National builder Shea Homes moved and restored the historic Hudson-Schutte farmhouse on Escondido's east end as part of a development agreement with the city to build 123 homes in a community named Chaparral Ridge in north Escondido near Dixon Lake.

Among the large, contemporary California homes inspired by Mediterranean motifs being built there, the little green farmhouse will remain as a memorial to the area's agricultural past, the builders said.

"It was just God looking out for this house" that helped the simple wood structure withstand years of different owners, earthquakes, abandonment and finally the move, said Shea Homes purchasing agent Evelyn McCormick.