A windswept fire Thursday destroyed the historic Pindar farmhouse on the flats in Middleburgh.
The fire, which is under investigation, completely destroyed the two-story wooden farmhouse, said Middleburgh Fire Chief Brian Devlin.
About 45 firefighters from six companies fought a strong wind, cold conditions and a smoky blaze for several hours. No one was injured battling the fire, Chief Devlin said.
The farmhouse was home to five generations of the Pindar family and had been unoccupied since November 2004, when Henry Pindar died, said a family member who asked not to be identified.
No one was in the home at the time of the fire, Chief Devlin said. The fire was called in on cell phones by four or five passersby.
Officials were still searching for a cause Monday, according to Schoharie County Fire Coordinator Matt Brisley.
Fire investigators are following up with some of the first witnesses to the fire, Mr. Brisley said, and are concentrating on the northwest corner of the house where the fire was high up when it was first called in.
The house had electricity, Mr. Brisley said, and the fire doesn’t look suspicious.
It may take a long time to determine the cause for the fire, he said, adding that the cause may never be known.
“There was not a lot left to pick over,” Mr. Brisley said.
The fire was fully involved when firefighters arrived shortly after the first call came in at about 6pm, Chief Devlin said.
The wind was the big problem in battling the blaze, Chief Devlin said.
Strong wind, he added, helps a fire progress in its stages.
Water was brought in from two sources, he said, the fire hydrant by the village well house near the creek and the dry hydrant on River Street which is connected to the creek.
Despite their efforts, the home was a total loss, the Chief said.
Firefighters from Cobleskill, Huntersland, Blenheim, West Fulton, Schoharie as well as Middleburgh were on the scene, he said.
Fire personnel were at the site until 11:15pm Thursday, said Chief Devlin, who praised the work of the dispatchers and the work of the firefighters from the different departments.
Fire personnel returned to the scene at about 9am Friday, Chief Devlin said, to meet with investigators and sift through the remains and determine a cause for the fire.
The home, which is well off Route 145 was built in 1910, said the former occupant of the house.
The property has been used for farming for several generations with everything from corn and hops to tobacco and even some cotton being grown in its fields.
Two hop houses and the old Civil War arsenal use to stand near the rear of the property. Middleburgh town historian Charley Spickerman said there are buildings shown on the property in the Beers Atlas of 1866.
The arsenal, he said, may have been destroyed in one of the floods of the late 1930s.
The home was damaged and several head of cattle drowned in the flood of January 1996.