PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Firefighters in Port Arthur fought a fire at a historic property along the Port Arthur seawall for several hours Tuesday afternoon.
Crews were called to Eddingston Court in the 3300 block of Procter Street just after noon when a caller reported that the building was on fire according to Fire Marshall Paul Washburn of the Port Arthur Fire Department.
The fire was burning in one of the four multi-story apartment buildings and at least 25 firefighters were working to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings.
The property consists of a house and four apartment buildings that were built in the thirties. 12News spoke with a local historian on Tuesday about its history.
It was built by sea captain Ambrose Eddingston, who came to Port Arthur from the Cayman Islands. It was originally built to house teachers, and ultimately housed dozens of other locals. Former Lamar State College Port Arthur President Sam Monroe lived there at one time.
Perhaps the most identifiable piece of the property is the wall of conch shells, thousands of them that ran along the front entrance near Procter Street.
Eddingston Court has been abandoned for the past decade and no one was inside when blaze erupted.
The fire was very “advanced” when firefighters arrived and according to Washburn.
Two or three men were seen leaving the vacant building before the fire according to a tip Washburn received.
Washburn is looking for anyone with information about the fire and mentioned the possible cash reward for information.
Call 409-983-8715 if you have information related to the fire.
The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
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If you have information about this crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or text “BMT” followed by your tip information to CRIMES (274637) from your mobile phone.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
