Pelham Voters Authorized the Purchase of a "Suitable Fire Engine and Apparatus" in Town in 1891

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On September 30, 1891, Pelham voters gathered for a "special election" held in the Town courthouse on City Island to consider whether to levy special taxes on residents of the Third Highway District of the Town of Pelham.  The Third Highway District covered City Island.  

The purpose of the taxes would be to fund "the purchase of a suitable fire engine and apparatus for said district."  Voters approved the proposal.

Interestingly, City Island already had a steam fire engine.  Indeed, that fire engine belonged to the Minneford Engine Company of City Island.  That steam fire engine had competed in, and won, a grand fire-fighting competition held at Belden Point on City Island on July 30, 1891, only two months before the special election authorizing purchase of an additional steam fire engine.  See Thu., Dec. 10, 2015:  Grand Fire-Fighting Competition and Parade Held in the Town of Pelham in 1891.  

Frankly, it is not yet clear what prompted the initiative to purchase another "suitable fire engine and apparatus" for the benefit of City Island.  Was it intended to replace the fire engine only recently acquired by the Minneford Engine Company or, perhaps, to serve as an additional engine for that company?  Was it intended for use by another group of firefighters on City Island?  Was the recently-acquired Minneford Engine Company's fire engine damaged or deemed inadequate in some fashion after it won the July 30, 1891 "grand fire-fighting competition" held at Belden Point?  Hopefully, future research will shed light on these issues.

In any event, during an adjourned meeting of the Westchester County Board of Supervisors held on February 5, 1892, Pelham Town Supervisor Sherman T. Pell introduced a resolution that was adopted by the Board of Supervisors.  It read:

"Resolved, That there be levied and assessed upon the taxable property of the third highway district, of the town of Pelham, comprising City Island only, and collected, the sum of two thousand, six hundred and seventy five dollars, ($2,675.00) for the purchase of a suitable fire engine and apparatus for said district; being in accordance with Chapter 254, of the laws of 1891, and as certified to by the following:

This is to certify that at a special election held in the court house, City Island, September 30th, 1891, in accordance with Chapter 254 of the laws of 1891, the sum of twenty-six hundred [and] seventy-five ($2,675,) was voted for the purchase of a suitable fire engine and apparatus . . . for the third highway district of the town of Pelham."

Example of 1891 Fire Engine.

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Below is the text of a brief news report that forms the basis of today's Historic Pelham article.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors
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Session of 1891-92
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Feb. 5, 1892.

Board met pursuant to adjournment.  Mr. Adams in the chair and a quorum of members present. . . . 

Mr. Pell presented the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That there be levied and assessed upon the taxable property of the third highway district, of the town of Pelham, comprising City Island only, and collected, the sum of two thousand, six hundred and seventy five dollars, ($2,675.00) for the purchase of a suitable fire engine and apparatus for said district; being in accordance with Chapter 254, of the laws of 1891, and as certified to by the following:

This is to certify that at a special election held in the court house, City Island, September 30th, 1891, in accordance with Chapter 254 of the laws of 1891, the sum of twenty-six hundred [and] seventy-five ($2,675,) was voted for the purchase of a suitable fire engine and apparatus . . . for the third highway district of the town of Pelham.

SHERMAN T. PELL,
     Supervisor.
JOHN B. HAWKINS,
F. RICHARDS,
     Justices of the Peace.
STEPHEN COLLINS,
     Town Clerk,
Town Board Town of Pelham.

Dated City Island, Feb. 3d, 1892. . . ."

Source:  Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors -- Session of 1891-92, The Eastern State Journal, Feb. 13, 1892, Vol. XLVII, No. 46, p. 1, cols. 3-8.

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Below is a list of prior Historic Pelham Blog postings that touch on firefighting and the history of firefighting units within the Town of Pelham.

Tue., Nov. 14, 2017:  The Town of Pelham Had to Save Pelham Firefighters From the Wrath of Taxpayers in the Early 20th Century.

Wed., Nov. 01, 2017:  Pelham Manor Firemen Helped Their San Francisco Brethren After the Great Earthquake in 1906.

Tue., Sep. 12, 2017:  Sale of Antiquated Fire Equipment in 1922 Reminded All of the History of North Pelham Fire Fighting.

Fri., Jul. 21, 2017:  Pelham Firemen Turned Their Hoses on Trolley Construction Crew in 1898.

Fri., Jun. 23, 2017:  A Little of the Early History of Hose Company No. 2, the Pelham Heights Volunteer Fire Fighting Unit.

Fri., Jan. 20, 2017:  A Proud Pelham Fire Department Took Possession of a New American La France Fire Engine in 1914.

Thu., Jan. 19, 2017:  Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold:  Don't Mess With a Pelham Fireman.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2017:  Six of Pelham's Earliest Firefighters Marched in the 36th Annual Fire Inspection Parade in 1930.

Tue., Dec. 06, 2016:  An Account of the Tragic Vaughan Livery Stable Fire in Pelhamville in 1907.

Wed., Nov. 16, 2016:  More on the 1889 Fire that Destroyed the Hunter House on Travers Island.

Tue., Oct. 04, 2016:  Harry R. King, Fire Chief of the First Fire District From 1911 to 1913.

Wed., Jun. 15, 2016:  Organized Volunteer Fire Fighting in Pelhamville Began as Early as 1885.

Tue., Jun. 14, 2016:  The First Annual Inspection of Pelhamville Fire Fighting Units in 1894.

Tue., Jun. 07, 2016:  When Did Pelham's Minneford Engine Company Acquire its First Fire-Fighting Steam Engine?

Mon., May 16, 2016:  Fatal Fire in 1902 at One Fifth Avenue Burned Down the Post Office and Pharmacy.

Fri., Apr. 29, 2016:  Famous Meyers Mansion in Pelham Manor Burned Down in 1897.

Thu., Apr. 28, 2016:  Pelham Manor Dutifully Extinguished a Fire That Nearly Burned Down its Hated Wooden Train Station in 1896.

Mon., Jan. 04, 2016:  Pelham Manor Voters Voted to Disband the Pelham Manor Fire Department in 1928.  

Mon., Dec. 14, 2015:  Early History of the Village of Pelham Manor Fire Department.

Fri., Dec. 11, 2015:  Evidence of An Early Independent Firefighting Unit in Pelham Named "Indians."

Thu., Dec. 10, 2015:  Grand Fire-Fighting Competition and Parade Held in the Town of Pelham in 1891.

Wed., Dec. 09, 2015:  Pelham's Minneford Engine Company Built a New Fire House on City Island in 1894.

Mon., Dec. 07, 2015:  The Code Used on the City Island Fire Bell in the Late 19th Century Used for Fire Alarms.

Mon., Nov. 30, 2015:  Another Detailed Account of the 1901 Fire that Destroyed the Clubhouse of the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island.

Fri., Nov. 20, 2015:  Account of 1894 Fire in One of Pelham's Earliest Newspapers.

Wed., Sep. 30, 2015:  Was it Arson that Destroyed the Prospect Hill School at Jackson and Plymouth Avenues in 1917?

Thu., Sep. 17, 2015:  An Account of the February 28, 1925 Fire at Pelhamdale, A Home on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fri., Jun. 12, 2015:  The Tumultuous Reign of Pelham Manor Fire Chief J. Louis Cunningham in the Early 1900s.

Tue., Jun. 09, 2015:  Reminiscences of Firemen Who Served From 1893 Until 1923 in North Pelham.

Wed., Jun. 03, 2015:  The Bell in Firemen's Memorial Park at First Street and Wolfs Lane.

Tue., Jun. 02, 2015:  Important Early Images of the Pelham Fire Department.

Fri., May 22, 2015:  History of Pelham's Beloved "Nott Steamer" Known as "Jim Reilly's Boiler."

Thu., Mar. 26, 2015:  Fire Destroyed the Old Pelham Manor Post Office in 1945.

Fri., Mar. 20, 2015:  Fire in 1932 Devastated the Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor.

Tue., Feb. 17, 2015:  More on the Early History of Organized Firefighting in the Settlement of Pelhamville.

Mon., Feb. 16, 2015: The Great Furniture Fight of 1896: Company of Pelhamville Firemen Resigned En Masse.

Thu., Feb. 12, 2015: Rare 19th Century Image of Pelhamville Firemen Who Served in Relief Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.

Fri., Dec. 12, 2014: Parade and Housewarming Hosted by Pelhamville Fire Department in 1894.

Thu., Dec. 11, 2014:  Pelhamville's First Attempt to Create a Fire Department in 1893 Failed Due to a Legal Technicality.

Thu., Jul. 24, 2014: Dedication of the New Fire Headquarters in the Village of Pelham on December 29, 1927.

Wed., Jul. 02, 2014: Election Shenanigans Involving Fire Commissioner Election in 1898.


Thu., Apr. 24, 2014: Information About the History of Fire Departments in the Town of Pelham Published in 1927.

Thu., Jan. 30, 2014:  The Night Pelham's Town Hall Burned.

Fri., Jan. 24, 2014: Early Days of Organized Fire Fighting in Today's Village of Pelham.

Thu., Jan. 23, 2014:  Another Account of the Devastating Fire that Destroyed the Travers Island Clubhouse of New York Athletic Club in 1901.

Wed., May 12, 2010:  Fire Partly Destroyed Pelham Town Hall in 1908.

Fri., Jan. 15, 2010: Photograph of Augustine C. McGuire, President of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the First District Fire Department in 1913.

Thu., Jan. 14, 2010: 1913 Report of the Firemen's Benevolent Association in Pelham.

Thu., Dec. 10, 2009: More 19th Century Baseball and Firefighting References.

Tue., Dec. 08, 2009: The Darling Triplets: Three Brothers Among Pelham's Earliest Firefighters.

Thu., Oct. 08, 2009: Firefighting Units on City Island in Pelham During the Early 1890's.

Fri., Sep. 04, 2009:  1901 Newspaper Article About Fire that Burned New York Athletic Club Clubhouse on Travers Island.

Mon., Aug. 31, 2009: Contest in 1891 To Determine Which Steam Fire Engine Company Could Throw a Stream the Greater Distance.

Fri., Aug. 28, 2009: Reorganization of the Minneford Engine Company on City Island in February, 1891.

Thu., Aug. 06, 2009: Brief History of the Fire Department in the Village of North Pelham Published in 1913.

Wed., Aug. 05, 2009: Pelham Manor Fire Chief Pleads for Taxpayers to Authorize Purchase of Village's First Fire Engine.

Wed., July 15, 2009: Liberty Hose Company Election in 1898.

Thu., Feb. 19, 2009:  The Old Hunter House Burns to the Ground in an Arson Incident on Travers Island on April 4, 1889.

Thu., Jan. 19, 2006: Pelham Manor's Earliest Fire Fighting Equipment.

Wed., Jan. 18, 2006:  Newspaper Report of the Infamous Vaughan's Livery Stable Fire in North Pelham in 1907.

Mon., Oct. 17, 2005:  The Firemen's Memorial of the Pelham Fire Department.

Mon., Aug. 01, 2005: An 1896 Inspection and Drill of the Fire Department in Pelham.

Tue., May 31, 2005:  The June 6, 1940 Fire That Destroyed the George M. Reynolds Mansion (Part I of II).

Wed., Jun. 01, 2005:  The June 6, 1940 Fire That Destroyed the George M. Reynolds Mansion (Part II of II).

Fri., May 06, 2005:  The Great Furniture Battle at Pelhamville's Relief Hook and Ladder Company in 1896.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."