Photo courtesy of the Franklin Community Fire Department Firefighers from multiple departments in the Tri-State Area worked to extinguish a fire that fully engulfed the former Vancroft Mansion early Wednesday morning.

WELLSBURG — Firefighters from multiple departments in the Tri-State Area were called early Wednesday to a fire that fully engulfed a historic structure that once was the scene of community events.

City Fire Chief Scott Kins confirmed firefighters were dispatched to the former Vancroft mansion at 12:02 a.m. and arrived to find flames pouring through the roof and windows, accompanied by small explosions.

A representative of the state Fire Marshal’s Office was at the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Built in 1901, the more than 70-room structure was built as a summer home for Joseph Vandergrift, son of steel magnate J.J. Vandergrift of Pittsburgh, but became home near the mid-20th Century to the Knights of St. George, a Catholic organization that held picnics and other community events there.

Kins said the fire was reported by two people working in the building who had evacuated it unharmed.

He said hydrants connected to an independent water source belonging to the property’s owner were not functioning, so 32 tanker trucks from departments in Brooke, Hancock, Jefferson and Washington counties were dispatched to the scene.

He estimated 340,000 gallons of water was conveyed to the scene from 12th Street in the city and the Ohio River.

Kins said firefighters from the many departments were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the section of the building added years ago for a nursing home.

Not in use for many years, the nursing home was operated by the Knights of St. George, Catholic Knights of America and by the late Gene Valentine as Aspen Manor.

In more recent years, it had been operated as a bed and breakfast. About a year ago, it was sold for $2.6 million to an entity called Vancroft LLC.

Representatives of Vancroft LLC couldn’t be reached for comment.

Vancroft is the name that was given to the mansion and the 600 acres on which it sits by the Vandergrift family.

According to various sources, the property included a small farm, multiple gardens, a greenhouse and a figure 8 racetrack and was a location for the filming of silent western movies.

Tours of the mansion offered by the Catholic Knights of America revealed that the mansion’s many rooms included an elegant study with a large fireplace, commercial-style kitchen, billiards room and indoor swimming pool that was filled and converted into a chapel by the Knights of St. George.

Kins confirmed a septagonal clubhouse near the mansion was untouched by the fire.

Local historians have said that structure was used for gambling parties held by Vandergrift.

Atop a hill outside the east side of Wellsburg, the mansion sits at the end of a long driveway off Brinker Road.

A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said of the mansion, “For generations, that building stood as a proud symbol of Wellsburg’s past, a reminder of an era when our county’s industry and spirit were on the rise.”

Thomas said the structure “reflected the craftsmanship, prosperity and character that helped define the community. Over time, it became much more than a mansion. It served as a gathering place, a place of worship, a center for care and reflection, a piece of living history that told the story of who we are and where we’ve come from.”

He continued, “Its loss is deeply felt by all of who value Brooke County’s heritage. But even in tragedy, there is gratitude.”

Thomas and the other commissioners expressed thanks to the many firefighters, ambulance personnel and police officers who responded to the fire.

The Brooke County Salvation Army also was at the scene, providing food and drink to the many emergency first responders.