Staff report
A Rockwell teen was charged with burning a historic farmhouse in east Rowan known to many as the Phillips place.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Korie Allan Karl, 18, of 406 China Grove Highway, with burning the building.
According to an arrest warrant, the teen “willfully and feloniously did wantonlly cause to be burned an unoccupied house located at 229 Agner Road.”
Karl was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center under $20,000 bond pending a first appearance in court.
The incident occurred Oct. 16. The fire destroyed the entire house. The oldest portion of the housed dated back to 1834.
The two-story, wood-framed house had been vacant for many years, and the windows had been removed. There was no electricity connected to it, causing fire officials to believe the fire suspicious.