This photo of the historic home was taken in 2008 to be featured in a book written by local author Brian Kesterson. It shows the 182-year-old pre-Civil War-era home as it appeared before it burned in Tuesday’s fire.
BELLEVILLE, W.Va. — One of the last intact pre-Civil War homes in southern Wood County burned to the ground Tuesday night after firefighters determined the home was beyond saving, officials said.
The historic home at 54 South Shultz Road, Belleville, which survived a Civil War gunship assault and was used to shelter fleeing Confederate soldiers after a defeat at the nearby Battle of Buffington Island, was declared a complete loss Tuesday night.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 1:28 p.m. Tuesday when the Graham family noticed smoke coming from the living room of the 182-year old home, said Chief Mark Stewart of the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department.
One baby and several older children were evacuated from the home while adults retrieved a fire extinguisher from the barn and attempted to put out the flames, Stewart said.
The extinguisher proved insufficient to put out the blaze, at which point the adults evacuated and waited for the fire department to arrive, Stewart said.
Firefighters from Lubeck, Washington Bottom, Blennerhassett and Little Hocking volunteer fire departments responded to the scene with a total of five tanker trucks, Stewart said. They shuttled water from a hydrant approximately a mile away and had plenty of water to fight the fire, Stewart said.
The cause of the fire was not determined due to the dangerous conditions the home presented once the fire was extinguished, Stewart said…
