Firefighters responded to a fire at about 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, at the MLK House in Camden.
No one was injured in the fire, however, the state of New Jersey may have lost an important historical landmark.
NBC10's Brenna Weick visited the scene on Saturday to find the building heavily damaged and the roof seemingly caved in following the fire.
The home, along the 700 block of Walnut Street in Camden, was used by civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., between 1948 to 1951 when he was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania.
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A movement had been underway that hoped to restore the building and transform it into a museum featuring "hidden gems about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and their unique connection to the city of Camden," according to a website for the effort.
A source on scene told NBC10 the cause of the fire is still undetermined.
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