TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The historic Beadel House on the property of Tall Timbers Research Station has been destroyed by fire, according to the Tallahassee Fire Department.
TFD says the fire appears to have been started by a lightning strike.
According to TFD Spokesman Todd Inserra, the call came in around 7 a.m. When crews responded, he said, the fire was on the second floor of the building and spreading into the attic.
TFD says the second floor collapsed as the fire continued to spread. It says one firefighter was injured and taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Tall Timbers President Will Palmer told WCTV’s Brianna Shaw that employees were working in a building nearby when the fire started and one of them heard the lightning strike.
The Beadel House is more than 100 years old and sits on the shores of Lake Iamonia off Highway 12 in Leon County.
Tall Timbers is a research station focused on “the study of fire ecology” and advocates for the use of prescribed fire for land management, according to its website.
Palmer confirms the second floor is home to the research station’s administrative offices and the first floor is essentially a museum that showcases the original artifacts and furnishings of the Beadel family.
Palmer tells us firefighters were able to retrieve some of the artifacts, including paintings, drawings, books and old shotguns used on the former quail hunting plantation.
According to the Tall Timbers website, the house was originally built in the 1890s by Edward Beadel, and later bought and expanded by his nephew and naturalist Henry Beadel.
Ned and Genevieve on the porch of the main house, Florida Photographic Collection(State Archives of Florida | State Archives of Florida)
He ultimately “left his entire estate to be used as an ecological research station,” the website says.
WCTV has a crew on scene and will share updates as we learn more.
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