This article by Anna Merriman was published by the Valley News on Nov. 1.
ROYALTON — Officials are investigating a fire that destroyed Eaton’s Sugar House, a longstanding roadside attraction along Route 14, late Thursday night.
The restaurant and sugar house, established in 1963, is a total loss following the blaze, which South Royalton Fire Chief Paul Brock called “suspicious.” Officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office were investigating the scene with dogs looking for accelerants Friday morning but were not available for comment.
Fire crews received a call around 7:45 p.m. Thursday about a small fire at the front of the restaurant and sugar house at the intersection of Routes 14 and 107. A passerby had already put out the flames by the time firefighters arrived, and officials cleared the scene after a walkthrough around 8:30 p.m., Brock said. .
Less than two hours later, crews were called out again for a second fire. When they arrived around 10 p.m., they found the “backside of the building fully engulfed and flames coming through the roof,” according to the Bethel Fire Department’s Facebook page.
Firefighters tried to enter the building for “an interior attack but were forced out due to deteriorating conditions,” the post said.
South Royalton firefighters, aided by crews from six fire departments in the area spent two hours battling the flames in what Brock called a “defensive attack.” He added that high winds that swept through the region had made the fire move quickly and made it harder for crews to get under control.
“It was stubborn because of the winds. It moved fast,” Brock said.
Other departments at the scene included Barnard Fire, Tunbridge Fire, East Randolph Fire and Randolph Center Fire.
Crews got the flames under control around midnight, but they weren’t able to clear the scene until around 3 a.m. Friday.
State Police reopened the intersection in Royalton around 2:40 a.m.
The sugar house dates back to the 1800s, when it was used as a cider mill, according to building owner Cliff Eaton. He purchased the building and rebuilt some of the structure in 1963, opening it as a sugar house, and later, a restaurant in 1998. Eaton still owns the building, but the restaurant has been run by Connie Poulin for the last 16 years, she said.
