After 100-year-old home destroyed in fire, historic foundation works to salvage pieces
Published 12:05 am Thursday, October 31, 2024
Personal items from previous residents, such as photographs and postcards, were found wedged behind fireplace mantels or left in other places.
Rachel Fink, HSF revolving fund project manager, and Charlie Franco, HSF marketing coordinator, salvage a historic fireplace surround.
Much of the rear of the 114 S. Clay St. house was destroyed in the Monday fire.
Taft Prentice, who handles property maintenance for the Historic Salisbury Foundation, works to separate the bannister from the structure of the stairs while Rachel Fink, revolving fund project manager, looks on.
SALISBURY — After a fire destroyed most of a 100-year-old home on South Clay Street in Salisbury on Monday, the Historic Salisbury Foundation asked employees and volunteers to assist with salvaging historical parts of the home.
The fire occurred in the 1910 home, located at 114 S. Clay St., just after 11 a.m. on Monday and severely damaged the home, destroying almost the entire rear of the building. No one was injured in the fire, which became a three-alarm incident. The home was unoccupied at the time of the fire and the Salisbury Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
Rachel Fink, HSF’s revolving fund project manager, said that the home would have to be demolished due to the extent of the damage. After seeing the extent of the damage, owner Vernon Bennett reached out to HSF Executive Director Kimberly Stieg and asked for the HSF to help salvage any historic pieces that were not destroyed.
Stieg said that typically the foundation reaches out to homeowners or demolition contractors when they see a home up for demolition and that having the homeowner himself reach out was somewhat unique.
Crews worked in the home between 9 a.m. and noon on Wednesday as part of the foundation’s “Workday Wednesday,” which brings foundation employees and volunteers together weekley at different historic buildings throughout the area to help with rehabilitation or salvaging historic aspects. Originally, HSF planned to host the event at 507 Park Ave. for the week, but switched gears to focus on the South Clay Street home because of the fire and the need for expedited work due to the nature of the damage.
Items that Fink and the HSF crews went into the home to salvage included fireplace mantels, doors, window trimming, stair tread and more. Stieg said that many of the pieces need to be cleaned before they can be put up for sale to the public at the Salisbury Ice House, which houses the foundation’s Architectural Salvage Workshop and the Second Saturday Salvage store. Proceeds from the sale of the historic salvage will go towards the foundation’s programs.
“It’s always upsetting to the historic community when we lose another property but knowing we are given the chance to save pieces of this home’s history is so important,” said Stieg.
