Restoration underway at historic Boutwell House in Stillwater, Minn.

STILLWATER, Minn. (KMSP) - Volunteers are finally starting to restore the more than 140-year-old Boutwell House in Stillwater, Minn., months after it was saved from demolition by a reality TV star.

The house, built by Presbyterian minister Rev. William Boutwell in the 1870s, was in the process of being demolished in January when the host of HGTV’s “Rehab Addict” Nicole Curtis negotiated for it to be saved mid-demolition.

In May, the Washington County Historical Society purchased the house for $600,000. Since then, they have been working to raise the funds necessary to restore the home. A GoFundMe account set up by the historical society has raised more than $25,000 for the project.

Volunteers with the Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps are helping the historical society cleanup the house from the partial demolition to prepare it for preservation. Crews will also help restore the cemetery across the street, which was vandalized several weeks ago.

Their goal is to restore the house to the era when Rev. Boutwell, the missionary credited with naming Lake Itasca, lived in it.