(From The Warren Sentinel dates Thursday 11 June 2009.)

WARREN COUNTY On May 31 tragedy struck the county when the oldest known structure caught fire. The structure was comprised of both wooden and stone features, now the stone remains.

"The Town of Front Royal and County of Warren have tentatively approved funds [Monday night] to be used to shore up the historic Robert McKay Jr. house at 8378 Winchester Road," said Warren County Fire and Rescue Chief Richard Mabie. "The funds will be used to stabilize the remaining walls and chimneys of the house, which dated back to 1734. This will render the structure safe for the Fire and Rescue Department to continue it's investigation as to the cause and origin of the fire, as well as stabilizing the remaining structure from further deterioration from the weather, etc."

Mike Graham, town manager, said that the incident is a true historic tragedy.

"Anytime you have a building that old still in existence when a tragedy like this happens we are all saddened," Graham said. "This is a good example of the town and the county working together quickly in order to make the best of a bad situation. We sprung instantly after the fire."

Town and county both came together shortly after news of the fire had reached them in order to start to devise a course of action for the historic location.

"It is still a joint project between the town and the county. We've had several meetings in coming up with what would be the best short term solution. We [decided that] we have to stabilize the current structure," said Graham. "[Stabilizing] will allow safety, because right now the fire department cannot do the research or investigation in it until we actually make the place safe."

The current costs have been approximated in order for both entities to move forward with the stabilization project that will assure firefighter safety while the investigation into the incident takes place.

"We are estimating the cost to be around $20,000 and we hope that the stabilization will last two or three years at the most at which time a decision will be made to either sell the property or turn it over to the Heritage Association," Graham said.

After that point it is the hopes of the town that the building will once again reach its full historic glory.