Historic Ebo Hill Mansion Destroyed In Fire

SMITHTOWN, NY - A fire destroyed the historic Ebo Hill mansion in Smithtown on Monday night, according to the Smithtown Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to the 173-year-old house on Edgewood Avenue at 7:56 p.m. The home was under renovation, with no occupants on the premises.

The fire was under control at 10:21 p.m.

Members of the St. James, Nesconset, Kings Park, Hauppauge and Nissequogue fire departments as well as the Commack Volunteer Ambulance and Central Islip/Hauppauge Ambulance all responded to the scene.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Smithtown fire marshal and the Suffolk County Police Department's Arson Squad.

The previous owner of the mansion, Richard Longobardi, said the fire had started in the mantle above the fireplace in the study and the mansion was completely destroyed, according to the St. James Fire Department.

He sold the home two weeks ago to Richard Albano, of Deer Park, who planned to fully restore the mansion.

“I feel awful, absolutely terrible. But nobody got hurt, thank God. It is what it is,” Longobardi said, adding that the wood in the house was 250 years old.

In a post on the mansion's Facebook page, Albano said: "I don't know where to begin but the pain I feel at the loss of what would have been the most beautiful home in Smithtown is indescribable. One worker was in the home at the time. He said that he was in the rear of the home when he heard a loud "pop" coming from the front of the home. He went towards the front and saw that the fireplace mantle was on fire. He quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flame. Once he did that he heard loud crackling noises coming from upstairs. As he ran upstairs he said that the 2nd floor was engulfed in flames and ran back down and left the premises. I thank God that no one was hurt including the worker and the hundreds of volunteer firefighters that came to help. I purchased the Mansion 18 days ago and have been working on it for those 18 days plus about a month prior to my purchase. To those that know me and my passion, if I was there I would have put the fire out or died trying."

In the post, Albano also stated that he hopes the town will allow him to rebuild and replicate the home.

The home was owned by the town’s founding family including Ethelbert Smith, who worked in the China tea trade in the mid-19th century. His son Richard Lawrence Smith, who was prominent in yachting and horse circles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and did brisk business in World War I shipping horses to Allied forces in Europe also owned the mansion, according to the St. James Fire Department.

Video above by Fully Involved Media Group / Kevin Barattini

Photos: Smithtown Fire Department