A tragic fire left one of Southold’s oldest churches in a pile of smoldering ashes this morning.

According to Southold Town Police, the First Universalist Church, located on the bend on Route 25 in Southold, was destroyed by a blaze that began at 11:28 p.m.

While on patrol, Southold Town Police Officer Robert Haas discovered a fire at the First Universalist Church in Southold, police said.

Southold Fire Departmant and other area departments responded and extinguished the blaze.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The Suffolk County Police Arson Squad was requested, responded and assisted in the investigation. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is not believed to be suspicious, police said. A congregant said this morning that firefighters said the cause could have been electrical, but that has not been confirmed.

In a sad twist, Peggy Richards and Ken MacAlpin, displaced after a fire left their Greenport home in ruins, have been living in the parsonage of the church. They were unharmed in the fire.

The church was founded in Southold in 1835; the building itself has stood since 1860.