The Bethel Church on Elizabeth Hill was burned Wednesday evening. I have attached two articles from the Parkersburg News and Sentinel http://newsandsentinel.com. Mark Parkersburg News and Sentinel Friday, December 17, 2004 Questions surround church fire By BRETT DUNLAP ELIZABETH - A historic church near Elizabeth has been destroyed by fire, leaving its pastor and others in the community with many questions. Wirt County fire personnel were called out around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday to a fire at the Bethel Church on Elizabeth Hill, just outside Elizabeth. The church is located along Rose Hill Road just off West Virginia 14. As he looked over the rubble that was once his church Thursday afternoon, Pastor John Barker was still trying to take it all in. "We were here Sunday evening,'' he said. "We meet at 6 p.m. and we had services. We left and then we got the call (Wednesday) night the church was on fire. When I got out here it was pretty much gone. It is upsetting.'' Representatives with the state Fire Marshal's Office, the Wirt County Sheriff's Department, the Wirt County Volunteer Fire Department and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were on the scene Thursday inspecting the site. Investigators have not made a determination of the cause; however, Barker said early information indicates someone may have intentionally set the fire. "(The investigators) haven't made any determination,'' Barker said. "They have given me the indication that it was arson, but they haven't ruled it.'' Brad Hartley, assistant state fire marshal, said Thursday the incident remained under investigation and his office was not ready to make a ruling on the cause. A cause and the origin point should be determined and presented this morning, he said. The Wirt County VFD was on the scene within a few minutes because firefighters were at the station that evening, Chief Charles Siers said. The department responded with an engine, a tanker truck and a support vehicle and 18 firefighters. The tanker made continual runs to a water source about a mile away, Siers said. The structure was fully engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived on the scene. Only two walls were standing. Siers said fire crews had two propane tanks on the side of the building they had to contend with. They worked to cool the tanks down to prevent them from exploding, Siers said. One of the tanks was venting. Once they got those under control, firefighters extinguished the hot spots. Crews were on the scene until about 2 a.m. Barker could not imagine anyone who would want to do him or the church any harm. "I've got no enemies,'' he said. "I have been in the ministry for over 20 years and I don't have one single enemy.'' Since establishing the church this past year, Barker said, they have tried to help people in need and have never turned anyone away. The church has helped those in need, he said. As Barker walked around the ruins of his church, he had a sofa in the back of his truck he was planning to deliver to a needy family. "We would help anyone,'' he said. "We would do what we can to help.'' Barker was thankful no one was hurt. The church, which measured 20 feet by 26 feet, was built in 1898 and has been predominately Methodist and Protestant throughout its existence, never standing empty for more than a couple of years, said trustee Denver Cline. The building was old, but it was still in sound shape, he said. The church was purchased from a Methodist group and put into a trusteeship in 1963, Cline said. Five to six pastors have set up churches at the site. A small cemetery sits adjacent to the church. "I was devastated when I came out here and saw it,'' Cline said. "It is a tremendous community lost. It is something that has been here since 1898. You just can't replace it. It is gone.'' Cline said the building is a complete lost and nothing can be salvaged from it. What remains will be pushed together into a pile and removed. "I don't understand why people would want to do this,'' he said. "It is such a community lost.'' With a congregation of 15 to 18 people, Barker was not being paid to be a minister. He did it for his own spiritual needs. The congregation has put all of its money back into the church in hopes of restoring the building, Barker said. When they started they had just a building and the pews. "The church had no money and no insurance,'' he said. "Everything we had went right back into it. "It was getting better and better, structurally inside and out. A lot of hard work has gone into this.'' The congregation had started with just Barker's family and had been growing to include older people from the area. The church did not have an affiliation with a denomination. "We had a small group of people, but we had great plans out here,'' Barker said. The only problem the church has had involved people parking on the lot and throwing beer bottles on to the property. The church was broken into a month ago and someone stole about $2,000 worth of tools. "Someone knew what was going on and just waited for the opportunity,'' Barker said of whoever may have started the fire. "That is what I feel.'' Barker said the congregation is planning to find another meeting place and continue weekly services. The church has an open account at the Peoples Bank branch at the Southgate Shopping Center in south Parkersburg which will accept donations. "If I was a rich man, I would start rebuilding tomorrow,'' Barker said. "We are going to continue to put our regular tithes in the bank account. "The Lord will provide. If we ever come up with a substantial amount of money, we hope to be able to build another building right here. We want to show the people who did this that we are better than they are. We plan on having a church here and seeing a congregation working in this area to minister to this community. That is our plans right now.'' The state fire marshal's office wants anyone with information on this fire to call 1-800-233-FIRE. Saturday, December 18, 2004 Wirt County church fire ruled arson By BRETT DUNLAP ELIZABETH - Arson was the cause of a Wednesday night fire that destroyed a historic Wirt County church and might have been a cover for the theft of several items from inside the church. Samples have been taken and sent to the West Virginia State Police Lab to determine if accelerants were used, but the West Virginia Fire Marshal's office said the fire at Bethel Church was an arson. There was also evidence of grand larceny and breaking and entering prior to the fire. Wirt County fire personnel were called out around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday to a fire which had fully engulfed the church on Elizabeth Hill, just outside Elizabeth. The church is located along Rose Hill Road, off West Virginia 14. Investigators at the scene earlier this week were trying to determine the location of portable heaters inside the building and were interested in tire tracks which were found on a small hillside leading upto the church. One propane heater has turned up missing while another one appears to have been disconnected but left at the scene, Pastor John Barker said adding all of the church's five-foot wooden pews, 18-20 in total, are missing as well. Barker believed the pews were original pieces of the church, which was constructed in 1898. "When we were at the fire the other night I initially couldn't understand why I didn't see any pieces of the pews in the debris,'' Barker said. The pews were solid wood, Barker believed they could have been made of oak, and had been painted brown. The pews were nailed into the floor deep, he added. "The perpetrators had to have been inside the church for a long time,'' Barker said for anyone to have gotten those pews loosened and removed. He said each pew was heavy enough to have to have two people be able to move them. One theory is someone had broken into the church, took what they could and then set the fire to try and cover up the crime, Barker said. The Wirt County Sheriff's Department could not be reached Friday for comment. In the late 1980s, the church was also the victim of arson, but damage was repaired and services continued into the early 1990s. Since then, the church has been vacant except for brief periods. Barker has said he could not imagine anyone who would want to do him or the church any harm. The church was a complete loss. Barker said they didn't have any insurance and very limited funds. The church has an open account to accept donations at the Peoples Bank branch at the Southgate Shopping Center in south Parkersburg. The church, which was established over the past year, had up to 18 people who regularly attended services. The congregation had put all of its money back into the church in hopes of restoring the building, Barker said. When they started they had just a building and the pews. "We had done a lot of work there,'' he said. "We hope to be able to rebuild and put another church on that site.'' On Dec. 26 the church's congregation will start meeting at the downstairs reception room at the Matheny Funeral Home in Elizabeth at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Barker said. Manager Judith Matheny said they are there to help people in need when they need it the most and the people of Bethel Church needed help. "They were in need,'' she said. "It was that simple.