Cause of fire at historic tavern still unknown
WILTON, N.Y. » County and state fire officials are still unsure what started a weekend blaze that destroyed an historic, early Wilton tavern and inn.
Five fire companies responded to a Route 9 inferno that lit up the sky and destroyed the former Green’s Tavern, a stagecoach stop built in 1810, which later became The Elms, an inn run by Mrs. Ransom Varney.
The post-and-beam wooden house was owned by Tom Whitermore and Mari Negron-Lotito, of Queensbury, who bought it last year and entertained thoughts of opening a bed-and-breakfast establishment.
“We were doing everything we could to restore it to its former glory and give it another 100 years of life,” Whitermore said. “Those dreams have gone up in smoke.”
Wilton Fire Chief Scott Brackett said the building was fully involved in flames when firefighters first arrived at about 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
“It had been burning for some time,” he said. “Within 10 minutes of us being there the whole house collapsed.”
Propane-style 25-pound tanks of spray foam insulation, used during the restoration, exploded
during the fire, Brackett said.
However, there was no propane or natural gas on site and the building was so totally destroyed that officials have few clues about the fire’s origins. There was at least one electrical outlet used by restoration workers, Brackett said.
“There’s a lot of different things that could have caused it,” said Ed Tremblay, Saratoga County fire coordinator.
A K-9 unit used to detect accelerants was brought in to help with the investigation, and a number of items have been sent to a state forensics lab for analysis. Tremblay said he’s unsure how long it might be before a report comes back from the state lab.
“It all depends how busy they are,” he said.
The building had been vacant for seven years before the current owners bought it at a county tax auction.
“I love to interior design,” Negron-Lotito said. “I had all the visions for what this place would look like when we were all said-and-done with the renovation.”
She and Whitermore said they discovered a variety of interesting artifacts in the old house including a 19th century deed transferring the property from Duncan McGregor, for whom Mount McGregor is named, to Ransom Varney.
The current owners kept the deed at home, so it wasn’t lost in the fire.
An old advertisement describes The Elms, the inn Mrs. Varney ran, as “under the shadow of historic Mount McGregor” near the Saratoga and Mount McGregor Railroad. Guests of the inn were given free rides to the station.
Rates for staying overnight at the inn were $6 for adults, $5 for children and “special rates for families.”
In the early 1900s, local men would socialize and play Checkers at Varney’s Service Station, adjacent to the inn, Town of Wilton Historian Jeannine Woutersz said.
The property was later owned by Ernie Woods, Wilton Fire Department’s first chief, she said.
The blaze kept firefighters on the scene for almost six hours, until after dawn. The house had a tin roof, which caused difficulties after the building collapsed. Firefighters used long pike poles to remove metal before spraying the site down with water, Brackett said.
“It was a very long night,” he said.
Wilton, Gansevoort, South Glens Falls, Maple Avenue and Corinth fire companies responded to the scene along with Wilton EMS. No one was injured during the blaze.
Schuylerville Fire Department was on standby.
Whitermore and Negron-Lotito said they haven’t decided whether to rebuild on the 4-1/2-acre property. However, during restoration they salvaged some old beams and antique furniture such as an old bed that was so large, they had to tear down walls to get it out of the house.
“We certainly have those pieces,” Negron-Lotito said. “They’re part of that house.”