Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/529

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��HISTOKY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��when the Council advertised for bids for the building of eight more. The contract was awarded to H. D. Sheffler, at $52 each. These cisterns were not completed until 1854, and the village was compelled to borrow monej' to pay for them, and to meet the increased wants of the department. The number of these cisterns increased, from time to time, as the growth of the cit_y demanded until (at the time of the erec- tion of the water works) there were seventeen of them in different parts of the city. They were kept full of water by various means, some- times by conductors from the adjoining houses, but generally by laying hose and pumping the water from the creek, or the spring on Fourth street. This was ver}' laborious work for the fire department until the arrival of the steam engine. Since the construction of the water works, these cisterns are being neglected ; they are no longer of any particular benefit to the city, and will never be again used unless some acci- dent should happen to the works during a con- flagration.

In 1847, the Recorder was authorized to correspond with parties in Mount Vernon, who, it seems, had procured an engine that did sat- isfactory work, and were directed to L. Button & Co., of Waterford, N. Y. This, however, came to naught, and late in the fall a corre- spondence was opened with a manufacturer of engines and hose in Cincninati. It was not until February, 1848, however, that the Coun- cil authorized P. P. Hull to purchase an engine and six hundred feet of hose. Thus the town was nearly two 3'ears negotiating for its first acceptable hand-engine of importance. This engine, which seems to have been a good one, cost $1,000 ; hose and coupling, $441 ; trans- portation, $69.58; total, $1,510.58. These were purchased of D. L. Farman & Co., Cincin- nati. At the same time, the Council authorized the following persons, and such others as they chose to associate with them, to organize a fire company, viz.: Levi Zimmerman, A. L. Grimes,

��R. C. Smith, S. J. Kirkwood, H. L. Baker, Peter Arbaugh, Samuel Au, Michael Linder, Thomas

C. McEwen, John Rickets, Adam Heldman, Abraham Emminger, P. P. Hull, Alexander Mcllvain, David Bushey and James A. Cook. They were to have the use of this new engine " Ohio," hose, etc. The same date, a commit- tee was appointed to procure a hose cart, and a proper place to keep the engine, and P. P. Hull was appointed the First Engineer by the Council. A shelter for the engine, etc., was rented of C. L. Avery.

After getting the engine, the Council recog- nized the importance of having a place to put it ; the}^ therefore negotiated with Gen. James Hedges for the purchase of Lot No. 184, being the one which the English Lutheran Church now .occupies. This lot cost $600, which was to l)e paid for in yearly installments of $100. This was in December, 1849, and in the same month a plan was reported for the new engine- house. It was to cost $1,500, and the contract was taken hy B. McCaren and Henry D. Sheflfler in March, 1850. In the following Jan- uary it was so far finished that the keys were delivered to the Council. The lower part of this building was used for the engine-room, and the upper part for a council-room and a town hall.

In July, 1852, a second fire compau}- was organized. It was called " Torrent No. 2." Its engine was purchased by subscription, the Council authorizing the same, and agreeing to refund to each subscriber, the amount of his subscription ; taking it gradually from his amount of tax for corporation purposes. The following names comprise the charter members of the company : George F. Carpenter, Eckles McCo}', Barnabas Burns, M. L. Miller, Ephraim McFail, T. B. Dodd, J. H. Cook, H. R. Smith, G. McFall, John H. Wiler, I. C. Fair, J. Christofel, James Dickson. John Y. Glessner, John C. Ritter,

D. C. Council, James Ho3'and Stephen B. Sturges. The engine was purchased at Seneca Falls, N. Y.

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