Historic Mendham Twp. mansion destroyed in fire

MENDHAM TWP. – An unoccupied Colonial-era mansion owned by the township was severely damaged Wednesday in an early morning fire that is under investigation by multiple authorities.

Initially reported as a brush fire, firefighters responded around 2:37 a.m. to a blaze in the 11,800-square-foot mansion that -- with additions over the centuries -- was the homestead of the Pitney Farm on Cold Hill Road.

Morris County Assistant Fire MarshaL Lou Pepe around 7:30 a.m. said the mansion had partially collapsed and officials were awaiting the arrival of an excavator at the scene. Township Police Chief Steven Crawford said the front of the mansion was "fully engulfed" when firefighters arrived.

Crawford said the house and property was checked at least once a week by employees of the Department of Public Works and that it was unlikely anyone was "squatting" or temporarily living inside. He said determination of origin and cause of the blaze is now being investigated by his department, Morris County Prosecutor's Office and Sheriff's Office.

Crawford said the mansion is not habitable and its sides were caving in during the firefighting effort.

"It doesn't look good.  It's gone," he said.

The township purchased the 12-acre property from the Pitney family in 2009. The price was $4 million, with $1.5 million used from the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund and $500,000 from the township's open space trust fund.

Township Mayor Frank Cioppettini from the scene Wednesday morning said everyone was in shock over the loss of the mansion.

All the furnishings were removed when the purchase from the Pitney family went through, the mayor said.

"We're in shock. It's a tragedy," the mayor said. "We were trying to save the property and we lost a treasure. We want to thank all the volunteers for trying to save the mansion but unfortunately it didn't happen."

After the township's purchase of the site in 2009, a nonprofit group called Friends of Pitney Farm was incorporated in 2013 with the goal of preserving the tract for cultural and historic purposes to which the public would be welcome.

Friends of Pitney Farm in December presented the township committee with an 86-page business plan for a portion of the property and the committee later voted to lease a portion of the property to the group. Omie Medford Ryan, president of the board of trustees of Friends of Pitney Farm, said Wednesday the loss of the mansion is "devastating."

"We're all in shock. It's a devastating loss and an important piece of our local history," Ryan said. "I got to see the devastation and it's pretty substantial and dramatic. Huge portions have collapsed."

Ryan said the farm's value to the community was priceless because Pitney family members served in wars, government and were renowned citizens of the area.

"The farm was the embodiment of all that happened in our community," she said.

Friends of Pitney Farm was in the process of negotiating a long-term lease with the township for five acres and was willing to maintain and manage the additional seven acres, Ryan said.  Ryan said it was too early to know how Friends will proceed but she said she hopes that if any portion of the mansion is deemed sturdy, it can be saved. A lease with the township for use of the tract was never finalized, Ryan said.

According to the Friends of Pitney Farm website, the first occupants of the property were brothers Jonathan and James Pitney and a dwelling was on the Cold Hill Road property as early as 1720. The home, which was increased in size over the centuries to three stories with two extensions, was home to 11 generations of Pitneys until 2013, the website said.

The property has a five-bay garage for vehicles, along with four detached dwellings or cottages and three barns, the website says.

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com. 

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