TAVARES, Fla. --
Two men torched an historic house in Central Florida because they believed that it was haunted, according to state fire officials.
Johnathan Laurence, 22, of Tavares, and Adam Allaire, 18, of Eustis, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with arson and burglary in connection with the Sunday fire that destroyed the Woodlea House, located on West Rosewood Lane in Tavares.
When firefighters arrived, the Civil War-era home was engulfed by fire and quickly burned to the ground.
The city of Tavares had been working with the Historical Society to restore the home and make it into a museum.
"Words cannot even express the devastation we feel because it burned to the ground," Tavares Historical Society member Brenda Smith said. "We have been fighting two or three years to preserve the house for a living museum for the city of Tavares and it is gone."
The home was moved from Lake Harris a few years ago as part of a restoration project.
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