Site of Original Firehouse
Main & Walnut St. Corner. The first fire house was built in 1830. It was a simple two story frame engine house which measured just 16 x 20 and cost $13.82 plus a 2% commission for the builder. It was originally occupied by the United Volunteer Fire Company and housed the hand engines, “Hoosier’, “Little Red”, “Madison” and “Alpha”. This firehouse continued to serve the Fair Play Fire Company for nine years until it burned down. The Jefferson County Court House is located in the former spot. The city constructed a new house for them at 501 Jefferson St in 1848-49, but it is no longer a firehouse.
Fair Play Fire Company No. 1
405 East Main St. Established on Sept 15, 1841, the Fair Play F.C. No. 1 was organized by members of the old United Volunteer Fire Co. Their motto since 1841 has been “Help One Another”, which is still boldly proclaimed on their present apparatus. Eleven members of this company were killed in the Civil War, including Joseph Lanceski who was accidentally shot in Tennessee in 1864. The Ones moved into the former Trolley Car Barn on East Main Street in 1888 and soon added the 55 foot bell tower. This company was also the first in Indiana to purchase a yellow fire engine in 1969. The interior is not only a working firehouse but a museum as well. They run a yellow E-One pumper.Atop the bell tower, sits “Little Jimmy.” Peter Hoffman constructed this weathervane for the One’s in 1889 for $28.85. A “New Jimmy” was built by Don Felix of N.H. and placed on the tower after the original was damaged in a storm. Today the 1889 figure stands in a special case in the One’s firehouse.Inside of the firehouse engine room is “Neptune” the Hose Carriage.At Fair Play Fire Company No. 1 One of the oldest pieces of fire apparatus in the Midwest remains here today in Madison. In 1851, a local wagon maker, Ezra Greene, was contracted to build a four wheel spider hose carriage of Philadelphia design to be used by the Ones. Purchased for $450.00, “Neptune” was pulled by at least twenty men manning her ropes (up front) and her brakes (in the rear). Today “Neptune” still resides in the One’s engine room as she has for over 150 years.
Washington Fire Co. No. 2
104 W 3rd St. It was built just three years after the Two’s formation in 1845. When built, it was one of two nearly identical firehouses constructed by local builder John Harrington. It is a fine example of a Greek Revival firehouse construction and is in remarkable condition for its age. In 2006, it became the oldest active fire station built for that purpose in the U.S., after the Hudson, N.Y. fire department closed its 1839 station. The bell tower was once enclosed by a massive wooden louvered cupola, but has since been removed. The building is a perfect example of how historic preservation and the needs of the cities modern fire service can work together in harmony. The company runs a red Seagrave fire pumper.
Western Fire Co. No. 3
821 West Main St. May of 1853 saw the birth of this company which has been located on West Main Street since the beginning. The original 1851 firehouse stood in the front of Lydia Middleton School on W. Main St. In the 1920’s, the new station was located across and down the street. Today the company’s bell tower still contains its bell, just as four other firehouses in town do. The company still retains a small Civil War cannon known as “Old Smoky” which for many years was fired on July 4th. Although the cannon was missing from 1861 to 1864, it was finally located in 1866. The Three’s motto “We Strive to Save”, is ornately gold leafed on their current apparatus. Western was the first company to break away from red fire apparatus when a 1939 Seagrave was delivered in White with gold lettering. The company still operates a white Pierce fire engine with hand painted murals on the doors.
Original Walnut St. Fire Co. No. 4
808 Walnut St. The original Walnut St Fire Company No. 4 was established in 1873. The Fours have been located on Walnut Street since their inception. This brick firehouse was completed in 1875. Madison’s Hook & Ladder Company occupied this building until 1961 when they relocated to Third & Walnut Streets. This company operates a state of the art American LaFrance aerial platform truck, which of course, is painted Kelly Green for their March 17th birthday. The Walnut Street Fire Hall Museum is housed at this location and owned by Frank Taff. Here, you can view and learn about an expansive collection of vintage and modern firefighting equipment along. C. 1850-1920s. Contact at: ftaff@cinergymetro.net
New Walnut St Fire Co. No. 4 & Civil War Fire Bell
424 Walnut St. For the first time since 1874, a 1,000 pound civil war fire bell can be viewed by the public at the “new” station for Walnut St. Fire Co. 4. Although this bell rung out countless fire alarms in its history, it was never meant to be a fire bell at all. It was cast in 1858 by the Buckeye Bell Foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio for Mr. Howell Hinds, a plantation owner near Greenville, MS. Somehow the bell was not able to be delivered, and by the time the Civil War arrived, the bell was still at the foundry in Ohio. In 1868, Mr. Hinds was murdered during a dispute near his Plum Ridge Plantation. In 1874, the newly organized Walnut Street Fire Company, composed almost entirely of German immigrants, purchased the bell for $710.00. It is now on display in the “Fours” firehouse and is still rung each month to alert members that a company meeting begins soon.
Fireman's Park
Vaughn Drive & Jefferson St. Corner This one acre park is dedicated to the volunteers of the MFD. The Washington Fire Co. No. 2 has a fine granite tablet in the park which was erected upon the company’s 150th anniversary in 1996.
