Building Erected More than 150 Years Ago Destroyed By Fire Last Sunday Afternoon
One of the historic homes of McDowell County passed Sunday when the Burgin home on Catawba river was destroyed by fire at 1:30 p. m.
This old homestead, which was situated a mile east of Old Fort, was built over 150 years ago and was the home of J. B. Burgin until his death, having been in the Burgin family for four generations.
It was here that General Locke Craig met Miss Annie Burgin, the daughter of J. B. Burgin, who later became his wife, the marriage taking place in this home.
Many people of McDowell county will be sorry to hear of the destruction by fire of the old Burgin home, which was the center of the social life of the community for years. The house was originally built of hewn walnut logs. Later the logs were weatherboarded and extra rooms added. This history of this old plantation is the history of Old Fort and vicinity, the Burgins, Greenlees, Davidsons, Carsons, and McDowells being the earliest settlers of this part of Western North Carolina.
Due to the Burgin house being outside the water limits of Old Fort, the fire department could not check the blaze and the flames from the huge walnut logs made a spectacular show for the large crowd of people present. It is supposed the fire was caused by a defective flue.
This property is owned by the Bancroft Company of Wilmington, Del., who purchased 500 acres on Catawba river and Curtis creek several years ago for a site to locate a bleachery.
This article was originally published in The Marion Progress on January 13, 1929.
Source: Burgin, Don. “Fire Destroys the Old Homeplace.” Voices from the Past: A Burgin Genealogy Website. 25 Oct. 2008 (http://theburginfamily.org/house/1929fire.html).
Note: the collage was created with pieces from the Butterfly Kisses Scrapkit by Tamara Dantes.
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