HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — It's something that's hard to put a price on. A barn that housed historic artifacts at the Steppingstone Farm Museum in Havre de Grace was totaled by a fire.
The path from the Steppingstone Museum is now blocked off with yellow tape after a barn full of history went up in flames Sunday afternoon.
"Our investigators concluded that the fire originated on the first floor of that building," said Oliver Alkire, Master Deputy State Fire Marshal.
Alkire said 50 firefighters were called in, taking about an hour to bring the fire under control. Monday brought a new round as the fire rekindled.
"So the fire department was called back out there today," said Alkire."Just due to the size of that building and completely collapsing in on itself there are times where a fire will ignite."
RELATED: Display barn at Steppingstone Farm Museum destroyed by fire
Steppingstone is a private nonprofit that leases the property from the Department of Natural Resources. The museum was established in 1958 and is a place that preserves the heritage of the county according to Robert Bailey, the Historic Planner with Maryland Park Services.
"So the Steppingstone Farm Museum collects artifacts from the history of Harford County between 1880 and 1920. So many of those artifacts are unique and would be irreplaceable,” said Bailey.
The cause is still under investigation but Alkire said they do have one lead they're looking at as a possibility.
"Our investigators did learn that a person was on scene and was mowing prior to the fire. They had put that mower into the barn that was on fire about a half hour, 45 minutes before the flames erupted,” said Alkire.
Around $200,000 in damage was done to the building, but when it comes to the antiques inside there's no price.
"It's terrible any time you lose something like that, once it's gone it's gone. You can't recreate a tool from the early 20th century to the late 19th century or any kind of artifact from the past so losing this, it really hurts,” said Bailey.
No one was hurt but the building is a complete loss. Alkire said they have no reason to believe this is a suspicious fire nor do they have any evidence of that.
Officials from the museum ask that no one tries to access the site until further notice. To give a donation to the museum, click here.
