4 suspects interviewed about Kimball Castle fire

Four people are being interviewed by the state Fire Marshal’s Office about the Aug. 27 at Kimball Castle in Gilford.

“The Fire Marshal's Office advised they have identified four suspects and interviews are underway,” said Gilford Deputy Chief Dustin Parent, who added no arrests have been made.

Kimball Castle is a Gilford landmark which caught fire in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, and burned about two acres of surrounding brush. The fire was immediately deemed suspicious, as the structure was vacant and did not have electricity.

The castle was built in 1894 by an architect hired by Benjamin Ames Kimball, a state representative and president of the Concord and Montreal Railroad. It was inspired by Medieval German castles and reportedly built for $50,000. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

After Kimball’s death in 1920, the property was willed to his daughter Charlotte, who died in 1960, and left the land to the Mary Mitchell Humane Society. It went into disrepair over the years before being purchased by Patrick and Melissa Starkey under the name of Lockes Hill LLC in 2018. They declined to comment following the fire.

Kimball Castle is located at 59 Lockes Hill Road, atop a hill with woods to the back of the castle, and an open area with two newer, smaller structures at its front. Those structures were not damaged in the fire.

The castle was called a complete loss by Fire Chief Stephen Carrier, saying the remaining structure was a safety hazard, and the floors, ceiling, and roof had collapsed.

While the call came in at 3:42 a.m. on Aug. 27, Gilford detectives and investigators from the Fire Marshal’s Office remained at the scene well into the daytime hours. Firefighters were extinguishing hot spots at the castle, as well as the brush behind it. The fire stretched down to Lake Shore Road, with charred marks visible just off the highway. A segment of the road was closed to traffic while firefighters put hoses on hot spots in what were extremely dry conditions.

Officers believe the fire originated at the castle, embers feel into the wooded area and caused the brush to catch. No injuries were reported, and the fire was contained.

The area is posted as private property, but officers at the scene said there have been trespassers over the years.

The Gilford Police Department put out a call to the public for information following the fire, including videos and photographs taken from surveillance cameras, trail cameras, and cellphones.

Last month, investigators were looking into three “people of interest,” and there were search warrants issued for electronic devices. On Tuesday morning, Parent said there were now four people being interviewed, and described them as “suspects.”

It is unclear if the suspects know each other, and how they were identified.