Fire That Destroyed Historic Mendham Twp. Farm House Deemed Arson

MENDHAM TWP., N.J. – More than two months after a fire ripped through a centuries-old Mendham Township farm house, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has announced the blaze was caused by a “human act.”

Authorities are looking for the public’s help in the ongoing investigation that began just after 2 a.m. Feb. 24 at the Pitney Farm House on Cold Hill Road in Mendham Township.

At 2:37 a.m. a passerby called 9-1-1 and reported seeing smoke coming from the area. When firefighters arrived on scene they found the building fully engulfed in flames.

The structure is still standing, but looks to be a total loss and suffered a partial collapse.

The property has been a source of contention over the last couple years after a group of Mendham Township residents formed to save the area from rezoning and ultimately potential redevelopment.

The Friends of Pitney put together a business plan to thwart the rezoning efforts and offer the township with other uses for the land. In December 2015, the township committee voted against a rezoning plan that would have opened to the door to the building of six residential lots.

Pitney Farm includes a total of 12 acres. Records show the home dates back to 1722.

Anyone with information about the blaze is asked to call Morris County Crime Stoppers at 973-285-2900 or 973-285-6200.