Officials have determined the cause of the fire that destroyed the largest historic home at Stone Mountain State Park.
Park officials said Thursday the state fire marshal determined the blaze was started by a short in an electrical conduit.
The Davis House, previously known as the Dickey House, went up in flames early Tuesday morning, Nov. 14. The DeKalb Fire Rescue Department received a call around 3:20 a.m. for a structure fire at 1060 John B. Gordon Drive. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames coming through the roof.
The DeKalb Fire captain says the house was under renovation and it appeared the house was a total loss. Arson investigators were brought in to investigate if the fire was deliberately set.
“After an in-depth fire scene examination, our investigators determined the cause to be a short circuit in the residence’s electrical wiring. As a result, this fire has been classified as accidental in nature,” says Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King.
King says the fire originated in the men’s parlor room closest to the front entrance. Baseboards in the corner were modified to fit electrical wiring for the room. Following the short circuit, the wiring heated up until nearby combustible materials ignited.
The historic house came from a former plantation near Albany. It was built in the 1840s on a 1,000-acre plantation in Dickey, Georgia. In 1961, crews cut up the house and moved it 200 miles to Stone Mountain, where carpenters put it back together. The house was relocated to the park when the mountain and its carvings of Confederate leaders became a tourist attraction.
GPB News contributed to this story
