Early Litchfield Fire Companies
One of the more interesting aspects of history is that there is always more to learn. When the Museum started to look into the history of the Litchfield Fire Department, we thought it might be a straightforward story, but like often happens with history research, the more we learned, the more questions we found.
In September 1870, the Litchfield Hook and Ladder Company was formed. Historically, a hook and ladder company had few resources to extinguish fires. Instead, they worked to keep fires from spreading, often using hooks and ladders to pull down burning walls and such.
At the beginning of 1876, several Litchfield men gathered to form a fire company. Exactly how this would differ from the Hook and Ladder Company, it isn’t clear. After a successful first meeting, however, interest fizzed out almost immediately. That summer, even without a fully developed fire department, the town council purchased a new hook and ladder truck and extinguishers. Then in February 1877, the town once again tried to organize the Litchfield Fire Company, and this time, it was a success.
It appears the new fire company meant the end of the Hook and Ladder Company, but other companies were started in later years. In 1882, the Litchfield Bucket Brigade was formed. Members paid $3 to join and were given a fire bucket. When Brigade members heard the fire bell ring a certain number of times, they knew to grab their buckets and rush to help.
There was also the Litchfield Fire Company No. 2, the precursor to today’s Litchfield Fire Department. Another group was the German Hose Company which at first only allowed German members. In 1891, they decided to change their name to the Hose Company No. 2, and men from all nationalities could join.
The Museum has yet to put together exactly how these different companies operated. Did they serve different parts of town? Did they only respond to calls for help from their members? We do know they fought fires together at times, but to what extent?
Another mystery is the physical location of the different companies. Did they each have their own space, or did they share? The earliest mention of an engine house was during the days of the Hook and Ladder Company and was near the present-day Opera House. The Bucket Brigade was briefly stationed here in the mid-1880s.
In 1886, the Litchfield Engine House was built on the northeast corner of Ramsey Avenue and 2nd Street. Prior to this, Fire Company No. 1 had been using an old school building to the west of the courthouse. It’s unclear if other fire companies used the new building as well, but part of the building was used for community meetings, band practice, voting, and city offices. In 1962, a new fire fall was built and the old building was home to Anderson Chemical for several years. It was torn down in 2001.
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