Fire Destroys George Washington-Era South Brunswick Barn

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A fire destroyed a historic, Revolutionary War-era two-story barn on Ridge Road at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to South Brunswick police.

The barn was apparently one of the oldest structures in South Brunswick Township and was part of the Longbridge Farm, which housed George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War.

The barn was entirely consumed by flames within minutes, and not salvageable. High winds caused embers from the fire to go into nearby neighborhoods, causing small grass and tree fires.

South Brunswick Fire Marshal determined the fire was caused by an electrical wire that fell on the barn after a tree branch struck it.

Monmouth Junction Fire Chief Scott Smith said, “The high winds were rapidly pushing the fire and firefighters did an amazing job containing the fire to the barn. The wooden structure of the barn caused the fire to gain intensity quickly. The fire caused siding on a nearby building at the Oilco property next door to melt, as well as start grass and tree fires all the way to New Road. We had to do all we could to prevent it from spreading to other homes.”

The fire took more than three dozen firefighters to extinguish and several surrounding homes on Hillside Avenue and Mary Street were evacuated.

Ridge Road is closed from Route 522 to New Road. Here's video from the scene: