Update: Fire destroys Davy's Pennsylvania-based church

11/4/2016

Fire has not dashed plans of Monkees fan for Davy Jones memorial in Beavertown

Owner vows to rebuild Monkees museum in wake of recent fire

Linda

11/4/2016 20:22:45

Sad about the church and all but Davy's church is gone his legacy/memory should live through his music, children and grandchildren

Sarah Combs

11/5/2016 15:05:30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2016
Davy Jones Church/Museum Fire, Beavertown PA
Contact: Sarah Combs, spokesperson for Davy Jones Church/Museum
SarahRCombs@gmail.com with all media inquiries
An investigation into the cause of the fire that destroyed the former Beaver Lutheran Church once owned by Davy Jones of The Monkees, in the early morning hours of October 11th has listed the cause of the fire as undetermined. It was first reported that the origin of the fire was a hot water heater positioned near the area where the determined source of the fire in the front foyer of the building.
A more extensive investigation proceeded once debris was cleared At this time, the cause of the fire remained undetermined by the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall and documented "no cause could be determined because of the extensive nature of the damage. "
During the cleanup process, it was discovered that the building featured horsehair insulation, a common practice during the 1880s when the building was originally constructed. This likely would have caused the fire to spread faster.
In the weeks to come, owner Cathy Whitehead will be working hard to clean up the remains of her home and recover any salvageable items from the rubble. The Monkees fan community has reached out to her over these troublesome three weeks with support in the form of messages, prayers, donations to an online fundraiser, sending goods and items to her directly and recently joining an online housewarming party that is set to be hosted on Facebook to help her regroup and rebuild her life.
Whitehead is constantly showing appreciation to those who are helping both locally and around the world through the "Davy's Church Facebook Page" where she routinely shares updates, photos and more of the cleanup process.
The cleanup process is ongoing and several cleanup events are scheduled until the property can be cleared of debris. "Help is still needed and we have something for everyone to do whether it's recovering old nails from the 136 year old building, salvaging items, disposing of things or running equipment--we could even use someone to go pick up food and deliver it to the work site for our crew" Whitehead said.
The Former Beaver Lutheran Church was one of the oldest buildings in the Beavertown community dating back to 1880. Davy Jones purchased it in the late 90s when it was under the threat of demolition and had been condemned. He worked on this project until his death in 2012. Whitehead purchased the church in 2014 from the Jones Estate and immediately began work to convert the 2nd floor into her living space while the first floor would be transformed into a musical venue and memorial to the late Davy Jones featuring Monkees memorabilia, a large collection of items from the residence of David Jones and items that fans had contributed from around the world. Moving forward, Whitehead hopes to realize the dream of a Monkees museum in her future home which she plans to locate on the same property. Her new home will allocate plans for a "Davy Jones Room" that will be a space with similar purpose as what the church would have delivered.

Update: Fire destroys Davy's Pennsylvania-based church

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