State police have accused a Hartstown man with intentionally setting fires that destroyed Conneaut Lake Park's Dreamland Ballroom and a Harmonsburg church.

State police at Meadville said Nickolas Dean Pope, 19, of Linesville Road, is responsible for the Jan. 14 fire that destroyed the Harmonsburg Presbyterian Church on Cemetery Road in Harmonsburg, and the fire that destroyed the Dreamland Ballroom on Feb. 1.

Police charged Pope with four counts of arson, two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal trespass. He was arraigned Friday before District Judge Rita Marwood and sent to the Crawford County Jail in lieu of paying a $100,000 straight cash bond.

State police, cooperating with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, interviewed witnesses of both blazes and compared evidence found at the church and ballroom.

Dreamland was one of the oldest buildings in regular use at the now-closed park. The ballroom was 89 years old when it burned. The Harmonsburg church had stood for 164 years when it burned.

Originally published online here: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804050354