A fire destroyed a historic Prescott Valley home known as “The Castle,” more than 100 years after it was built as one of the Arizona Territory’s grand Victorian homes, officials said.
Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority and the Prescott Fire Department were dispatched at about 3:18 p.m. May 2 to a residential structure fire on Fourth Street in Prescott Valley, where crews found a two-story home with flames showing from the roof, CAFMA said in a Facebook post.
Prescott Valley town officials identified the home as the historic Barlow-Massicks house, calling it a local treasure dating to the late 1800s.
The home was occupied when the fire started, but the occupant evacuated before crews arrived, CAFMA said.
One person was taken by Copperstate Ambulance for further treatment, according to the agency.
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Prescott Valley Mayor Kell Palguta also addressed the fire in a Facebook post May 2, calling it a “sad day for Prescott Valley.”
Prescott Valley's historic Barlow-Massicks house, a local treasure dating to the late 1800s, was destroyed by fire.
Palguta wrote that the house had been destroyed by fire and offered prayers to first responders and those directly affected.
Suppression efforts were ongoing after the fire was brought under control, CAFMA said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately available. The fire remained under investigation, according to CAFMA.
House was known as ‘The Castle’
The Barlow-Massicks house was known as The Castle, a four-story Victorian mansion considered one of the grandest homes in Arizona Territory, according to the Prescott Valley Historical Society page on the town’s website.
The house was also called the “Castle on the Creek,” according to a Sharlot Hall Museum article by Peggy Magee.
Thomas Gibson Barlow-Massicks had the home built in the 1890s, modeled after a British manor house for formal entertaining, with a ballroom and wine cellar, features Magee described as unusual for homes in Arizona Territory.
Barlow-Massicks entertained investors from England and the eastern United States at the home, Magee said.
Barlow-Massicks was born in 1862 in Cumberland, England and arrived in Lonesome Valley in 1885 to form the Lynx Creek Hydraulic Works, according to the historical society.
He became a major dredge operator and dominated mining operations along Lynx Creek for 14 years, the historical society said.
Barlow-Massicks also established the town of Massicks, which included a post office, general store and about 100 residents, according to the historical society.
Barlow-Massicks built a concrete dam across Lynx Creek, creating a 60-foot-deep lake that supplied water for his mining operations, the town website said.
The house had suffered from “time, neglect and the elements” before the Fain family helped rehabilitate it, according to the historical society.
The house was located in Prescott Valley's Fain Park prior to the fire.
