HONESDALE, Pa. -- Two excavators scooped up what was left of the burned out coal bin building Saturday morning on Commerical Street in Honesdale. At one time, the building helped to power the trains that made Honesdale what it is today.
Gerald Margraf, who is employed by Leeward Construction, said crews did what they could to salvage what was left of the building built in 1899.
The property burned Thursday night and members of the Wayne County Historical Society hoped some parts would survive the flames.
Clark Williams, who lives in Honesdale, visited the property on Saturday. "I came down this morning to see what was going on, if there was anything salvageable for the historical society." Williams was able to save some coal chutes he says will go to the historical society and may one day be on display there.
Fire marshals said the cause of Thursday night's fire is still under investigation, but many fear the fire may have been intentionally set since the property had no power and another property in the borough owned by the same people was vandalized one day before.
Williams was upset to see Honesdale lose a piece of its history. "Honesdale suffers from a problem where its history seems to go away. There seems to be not a lot of efforts to save the historic qualities that are left in town. Not that the building was any real show piece. It had basically sat here languishing for many, many years. It was used for a big sign on the front of it. But, history is history and it's now gone."
A state police fire marshal is investigating the fire in Wayne County.