A heartbreaking scene unfolded in downtown Columbus on Monday afternoon as the historic Kelton House Museum and Garden suffered devastating damage after a reported gas leak and explosion.
Around 2:30 p.m., Columbus Fire crews responded to reports of a gas leak at the museum, located at 586 East Town Street. Minutes later, an explosion tore through the back of the building, sending flames into the attic and causing a partial collapse. The impact was so strong that neighbors in nearby apartments said their buildings shook from the blast.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Museum staff had already evacuated before firefighters arrived, and while four firefighters were inside the front of the home when the explosion occurred in the back, they were able to escape safely.
Assistant Chief Mike Secrist of the Columbus Division of Fire called the damage “pretty significant, if not a total loss,” noting that both the fire and water damage left the structure unstable. Fire crews used aerial streams and drones to fight the fire and locate hotspots from above.
Even amid the destruction, firefighters worked to save what they could.
“They did pull a lot of artifacts and stuff out of this building due to historical significance,” Secrist told ABC6. “We obviously couldn’t get everything, but they did their best.”
The Kelton House, built in 1852 by Fernando and Sophia Kelton, holds deep historic significance for Columbus. Once on the edge of the city, it served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, sheltering people seeking freedom. The home stayed in the Kelton family for more than a century before being donated to the Junior League of Columbus in the 1970s.
Since opening as a museum in 1979, it has been a beloved piece of local history.
Known not only for its beautifully preserved Victorian interiors but also for the powerful stories it helped tell about courage and compassion.
Kristina Ellis, president of the Junior League of Columbus, described the explosion as “devastating,” adding that next year would have marked 50 years of the organization’s stewardship of the historic property.
“There are many decades of women that came before me that put their heart and soul into this building,” Ellis told ABC6.
For neighbors, it’s hard to describe just how devastating the loss is.
“Huge. There’s a lot of history to this place,” neighbor David Spence told WOSU.
The cause of the gas leak remains under investigation, and officials have not yet shared what artifacts may have been lost. For now, what remains of the Kelton House stands as a reminder of Columbus’s complex past and of a community that continues to value its history, even in moments of heartbreak.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons.
