WHITE MILLS, Pa. — A former hotel in Wayne County was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning.
The White Mills Hotel near Hawley was set to become apartments.
Photos from the White Mills Fire Department Facebook page show fire shooting from the building on Route 6 (Texas Palmyra Highway) in Texas Township.
Crews arrived on the scene around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Settlers Hospitality purchased the building about a year ago with plans to turn it into affordable housing for workers.
The building sat empty for nearly a decade before Settlers Hospitality purchased it. The CEO told Newswatch 16 last week that the plan was to renovate it into 16 apartments. Now, nothing is left of what once stood there.
Neighbors who live near the place received a shocking wake-up.
"I saw the reflection in the Dorflinger, which I thought was on fire, and when I got up to investigate, I saw the flames coming out of the front porch of the hotel," said Jody Rowe.
Rowe says she called 911. She showed Newswatch 16 the video she took as flames consumed the hotel.
"It was crazy how fast, how quickly things can go up in flames," Rowe said. "It's gone, and it's a shame. It was going to be put to good use."
Staff at the Dorflinger Glass Museum have a front-row look at the former hotel. Curator Kurt Reed says the history of the hotel dates back to the late 1800s.
"It was for salesmen who came to stay here, for workers and all that, but very, very historic," Reed said.
In a statement from Settlers Hospitality, CEO Justin Genzlinger says, in part,
"Historic preservation is a core value of Settlers Hospitality, so we're very disheartened by the loss of a building with such a rich history and a landmark in White Mills. It's especially hard since we received approval for the restoration just days ago."
A state police fire marshal said that because of the extent of the damage, the cause and origin of the fire could not be determined. State police are still investigating.