By Matthew Spolar
Concord Monitor
NORTHWOOD, N.H. — A six-alarm fire engulfed the Old Johnson’s Dairy Farm in Northwood yesterday afternoon.
The farmhouse on the West Street property was gutted by fire, and the attached barns burned to the ground. The house, built in 1778, was one of the oldest in Northwood, town historian Joann Bailey said.
Arlene Johnson, 88, the daughter-in-law of Samuel Johnson, who bought the property in 1926 and turned it into a dairy farm in the late 1940s, watched a cloud of smoke billowing from the property yesterday.
At one time, cows on the farm produced milk for Johnson’s Dairy Bar, a popular ice cream spot opened in 1955 on Route 4, now called Johnson’s Seafood & Steak, Johnson said. The property is no longer a working farm.
Johnson’s daughter Susan lives on the hill overlooking the old dairy farm. Susan said she first noticed curls of black smoke about 4 p.m. Then she watched the fire “hop” from building to building, taking down two of the old white barns.
“It’s hard to picture now because the buildings aren’t there anymore,” she said. “But they were there when we started (watching).”
In 2006, the Johnsons sold the old farm to Tony Matras, now 28, and his brother Jesse, 27, from Pittsfield. The brothers rent the historic farmhouse to Donna Egan and Steve Woods, who live there with their six children, Jesse said.
There were children in the house when the fire started, Jesse said, but everyone got out safely.
Jesse is getting married to 22-year-old Jessica Jones tomorrow. While saddened by the damage to his recently purchased property, Jesse and his bride-to-be saw a silver lining.
“If it had to happen this week, this was a good day,” Jones said.
Copyright 2010 Concord Monitor/Sunday Monitor