Around 15 firefighters fought the blaze at the popular visitor attraction at Dergalt, on Spout Road, with fire engines from Newtownstewart and Strabane.

A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said when fire crews arrived the thatched roof was “well alight” but they managed to stop the fire spreading.

“The roof was destroyed but the structure of the stone building is still in place,” he said.

“Firefighters retrieved some historical items from inside the cottage.”

It is not known at this stage exactly what caused the fire.

The Tyrone cottage – once owned by the family of Woodrow Wilson – is now owned by the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh.

Police said the fire at the historic house was the result of an accident.

Peter Kelly, head of operations at the Ulster American Folk Park, said the fire started at lunch time.

“While we are very concerned by the fire damage to the ancestral home we are grateful for the fire service’s quick action which limited the damage to the thatched roof over the kitchen part of the dwelling.

“There was no damage to the artefacts within the house.

“Work begins immediately to restore the thatched roof fully,” he said.

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the US, from 1913 to 1921.

According to author Billy Kennedy, James Wilson (grandfather of the president) was 20 years old when he emigrated from Dergalt to Philadelphia in 1807.

He had recently completed a printer’s apprenticeship at Gray’s Printing Shop.

Printer John Dunlap printed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Mr Kennedy said: “Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton Augusta Shenandoah and was one of America’s most distinguished presidents.

“He successfully guided America through WWI. His father was a Presbyterian minister and his maternal grandfather the Rev Thomas Woodrow was also a Presbyterian minister,” he said.

James Wilson married Anne Adams, who was Ulster-born and from Donaghadee.

Joseph Ruggles Wilson – the former president’s father – was a scholarly Presbyterian minister and his mother Jessie Woodrow was from Carlisle.

Woodrow Wilson visited Ireland in 1899.

Part of the land surrounding the cottage is owned by the Wilson family.

The visitor attraction is usually open to the public during the months of July and August.