Historic 19th century New England stone castle set to be torn down after fire raged through it
A historic lakeside castle in New Hampshire faces demolition after a raging fire left the more than 120-year-old property in ruins.
Flames tore through Kimball Castle, a late 19th-century landmark that overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford, on Wednesday morning.
Firefighters started receiving calls about a fire in Gilford around 3am, although they did not know exactly where it had erupted at first.
But they quickly realized it was the stunning castle burning when they arrived at the smoky scene.
'The roof had collapsed and the floors were beginning to collapse, and it was beginning to spread to the brush around the building,' Gilford Fire Chief Stephen Carrier told WMUR.
The fire spread into the woods around the castle and destroyed about two acres of brush, according to a fire department statement.
Fire crews from several communities were able to tame the fire by 5am, but the damage to Kimball Castle is irreparable. The entire structure was left completely unsound.
'That's probably going to signal the end to the building,' Carrier told WMUR. 'There's still some hot embers in the building in the cellar hole.'
Flames tore through Kimball Castle (pictured), a late 19th-century landmark that overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford, on Wednesday morning
Firefighters started receiving calls about a fire (pictured) in Gilford around 3am, although they did not know exactly where
Kimball Castle's realtor owners were informed the building must be taken down due to 'instability and fire damage,' Carrier wrote in a statement.
Patrick and Melissa Starkey of Starkey Realty bought the castle under the business Lockes Hill LLC in 2018, according to The Laconia Daily Sun and public records.
Around that time, they expressed plans on Facebook to turn the castle into 'a wedding and event destination.' These plans never came to fruition.
The Starkeys declined The Laconia Daily Sun's request for comment on the fire.
'It is sad to see this happen to a building with such historical significance,' the fire chief noted.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and authorities have asked anyone with information on what happened to come forward.
'The place doesn't have power, and no one lives in it,' Gilford Deputy Police Chief Dustin Parent told The Laconia Daily Sun.
'Our fire department viewed it as suspicious for those reasons alone.'
Fire crews (pictured) from several communities were able to tame the fire by 5am, but the damage to Kimball Castle is irreparable
Kimball Castle (pictured before the fire) was built in the late 1890s by Benjamin Ames Kimball
Since a historic building burned down, the State Fire Marshal's Office is aiding the investigation.
Kimball Castle, which sits atop a hill near Lake Winnipesaukee, was built in the late 1890s by railroad magnate Benjamin Ames Kimball.
The castle was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
According to the New Hampshire Historical Society, Kimball was the president of Concord Savings Bank, Mechanics National Bank, and the Concord and Montreal Railroad.
Kimball built the luxurious castle and kept it as his summer estate until he died at 87 in 1920.
After his death, his daughter, Charlotte Kimball, lived there until she died in 1960.
Charlotte passed the property on to the Mary Mitchell Humane Society with a $400,000 endowment to maintain it as a nature preserve, according to The Laconia Daily Sun.
Kimball Castle's (pictured) owner was informed the building has to be taken down due to 'instability and fire damage'
The fire spread into the woods (pictured) around the castle and destroyed about two acres of brush
But the money set aside for the charity to maintain the property went unaccounted for. The castle was left to deteriorate and became the subject of rampant vandalism.
The New Hampshire Attorney General's office then took control of the in-despair structure and offered it to the town of Gilford.
The property was eventually sold to its current owners in 2018.
