Wise County Messenger

Popular Categories

No categories found.

Wise County Heritage Museum lost to blazeFree Access


The Wise County Heritage Museum was destroyed in a fire early Saturday morning. AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER

The Wise County Heritage Museum, a fundamental piece of Wise County and Decatur’s past, was reduced to rubble after a devastating fire early Saturday morning.

The building, constructed in 1893 to house Decatur Baptist College, has been used to tell the county’s story for decades. As the blaze spread through the timbers and hardwoods of the 130-year-old landmark on South Trinity St. in Decatur — with towering flames illuminating the sky from miles away — most, if not all of that history was lost.

“It’s sickening,” said Wise County Historical Society President Kerry Clower.

Firefighters from the Decatur Fire Department responded to the blaze at around 12:50 a.m., initiating an interior attack.

Firefighters attack the blaze at the Wise County Heritage Museum from ladder trucks. AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER

During the initial response, firefighters located a fully-involved fire as they moved through the building, first noting open flames on the second floor, only to find more flames spreading from beneath them. 

“It spread so quickly. Fire conditions could have been anywhere throughout the building,” said Decatur Fire Chief Deroy Bennett. “When they first encountered the first floor, the conditions were really light smoke. It was a little heavier on the second floor and then [conditions changed rapidly.] When they started coming back down, they encountered fire and heat back on the first floor. When we had the heaviest push, fire lit up from the bottom and on the ceiling of the third floor.”

Fire personnel was pulled from inside the building, a moment that Bennett said is still playing through his mind.

“I’ve called for evacuations of buildings before, but I’ve never called for evacuations where my next thought is, ‘I hope to God they all get out,’” Bennett said. 

Within moments of evacuating, fire and smoke flashed through the exterior of the building, tearing through the roof of the Texas landmark. 

The flames progressed and the structural integrity of the stone building began to crumble. By 2 a.m., walls on the south side of the three-story building caved in. 

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. There were no occupants on scene and no injuries were reported by first responders.

The Decatur Fire Marshal’s Office, in partnership with the Wise County Fire Marshal and the Tarrant County Arson Task Force, are investigating the fire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) also investigated the scene Saturday.

“If the [ATF] thought there were any ties [to similar fires], it would have triggered a national response team for a full investigation,” Bennett said. “The two that came agreed that there’s nothing that stands out to indicate foul play.”

Several fire departments joined in the effort to suppress the flames, with Bridgeport, Denton, Haslet and Newark providing aerial assistance to fight the fire from above. Alvord, Boyd, and Paradise Fire Departments also assisted. The Decatur Police Department, Wise County Sheriff’s Office, Wise County Fire Marshal and Wise County EMS joined operations at the scene.

With the stone walls starting to crumble, fire crews then worked to protect the Decatur Police and Development Services buildings, located just feet away from the former Decatur Baptist College. The buildings sustained smoke and odor damage.

Wise County Heritage Museum at 1602 South Trinity St. in Decatur was formerly the Decatur Baptist College. Construction on the building was completed in 1893. AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER

As the scene unfolded before Clower’s eyes, he said it was difficult to process the depth of what was lost.

The museum took efforts to digitize many records and archives over the years, with hopes that those can be located. Jack Gainer, who has worked with the museum for the past 15 years, said most of the digital archives are stored on hard drives stored off-site. 

“We may have lost 2-3 weeks of work on our records,” Gainer said.

But so much history was destroyed, including the Lost Battalion exhibit, which featured an unrivaled collection of pictures, uniforms and other treasured materials of the Texas soldiers, many of whom from Wise County, imprisoned in Japan for 42 months during World War II. 

“It’s gone,” Clower said. “If it’s not water damaged, it’s smoke damaged.”

He said he doubts the building is insured to the level to recuperate the loss, adding that a reconstruction effort would have been more feasible if the walls remained intact.

AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER

Clower was startled awake by an intruder alarm shortly before 1 a.m. and immediately drove to the museum. When he arrived, he noticed some smoke, then flames, followed by the total destruction of a building that has been a part of he and his family’s lives for generations.

“My great-great-grandfather was one of the men that signed that note when the building was built in 1893,” Clower said, adding that following generations attended the college, up until it was relocated to Dallas in 1965, eventually becoming Dallas Baptist University.

He has served the Wise County Historical Society for around 20 years. In the days leading up to the blaze, he was finishing up the final touches on the agenda for this week’s meeting.

“Now we start over,” Clower said.

3 responses to “Wise County Heritage Museum lost to blaze”

  1. katlyn57 says:

    My heart just hurts to know that this Grand Lady will no longer be visible on the hill over looking Decatur. AND that all the treasures and History of our County kept there, are lost forever.😭💔

  2. Bradley Gober says:

    We all LOST a portion of Texas History. I will miss this piece of Decatur. Bradley Gober

  3. hrsusanjboston@gmail.com says:

    This is so sad so many times do you know been by there always wanted to stop and look but never got too.😢

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.