The History of the Roxbury Fire Department
Lochie Jo Allen
Roxbury Town Historian
Lochie Jo Allen
Roxbury Town Historian
The Roxbury Fire Department had its simple beginnings early in the 1890's. After the incorporation of the Village of Roxbury and a requirement for the establishment of a village water works, local residents of Roxbury organized a company to build a water system. Its certificate of incorporation was dated May 10, 1890. B. B. Bouton, a Roxbury lawyer, installed the system with fire hydrants at convenient intervals. Thus, the first step toward fire protection was accomplished.
On September 2. 1890, the B. B. Bouton Hose Company was conceived. Charter Members of the Hose Company each paid three dollars for "defraying the expenses of perfecting the incorporation of such company and acquiring such property as may be required from time to time for the benefit of said company."
The first secretary was Thomas J. Weyl, one of two barber brothers who had recently moved to Roxbury. Mr. Weyl's record, presently located in the Griffin History Room at the Roxbury Library, lists the Charter Members as Thomas J. Weyl, James M. Meeker, F. Enderlin, John W. Griffin, Hohn Van Valkenburgh, A. Cartwright, Jr., C.O. Laymon, A. T. Starley, A. K. Enderlin, Geroge M. Orr, R. B. Hazard and T. W. Robinson.
A Constitution and By-Laws, required for such fire protection companies and secured from the State of New York, were copied verbatim into the first record book. Following these pages, Mr. Weyl copied a Constitution and set of By-Laws specifically for the local company. These were adopted on October 31, 1890. The Preamble of the Constitution for the B. B. Bouton Hose Company, repeated in that of the later Roxbury Fire Department, reads:
"Whereas, The strict observance of order being the only guarantee for the prosperity of any organization, it becomes necessary that we have certain laws and regulations, and that they be respected by every member of the Company; also that each member shall at all times have the welfare of the Company at heart so long as he shall be a member thereof, doing all in his power, so far as may be consistent with his own being, to advance its interests and the interests of the citizens for whom he labors; therefore be it hereby
Resolved, That we, the members of B. B. Bouton Hose Company, No. 1(Roxbury Fire Department), do solemnly pledge ourselves to obey our officers when on duty, to labor for the general good of the Company, and to conform to and abide by the following Constitution and By-Laws."
The primary organizer of the Hose Company was Burrett Beebe Bouton, father of the Honorable Arthur F. Bouton, Roxbury bank president and later State senator. B. B. Bouton lived to see the Hose Company named for him, its operation under the adopted Constitution, and the purchase of the first hand-drawn hose cart, a Gleason and Barley, in January 1891, for $150, financed by popular subscription.
In 1893, seeking property on which to build a hose house, the B. B. Bouton Hose Company met with many problems. One local man raised his price on a lot form $112 to $250 when the Company showed an interest in purchasing it. Another then offered a lot at a higher price. In March the Company turned to the Village Trustees, but by late summer they still had received no response. Not only was the hose cart without a home, but there was no suitable place for the firemen to hold their meeting. They usually gathered at Cartwright's store. In December a temporary arrangement was made to you;se the cart in a barn, but since the owner did not want to partition off a section for meetings, the agreement was cancelled.
In each Annual Report, a statement of property was required. The statement dated January 12, 1894, listed the following: 1 two-wheeled cart, 800 feet of hose, 1 crow bar, 1 ax, 2 wrenches and spanners, 5 nozzles, a drag rope, 1 "Y", 4 lanterns, 24 uniforms (coat, pants, cap). Early in 1894 a committee was formed to secure a certain bell, but the owner wanted to high a price. In February a dealer in Oneonta offered a cast-iron bell for only four dollars, but the size was thought to be too small. In March a 21-inch bell was bought for five dollars including shipping charged By the April meeting the bell had arrived agh the Roxbury depot. The next problem was where to put it.
By 1896 another nozzle and another uniform were added to the inventory. In the fall a new committee was appointed to look for a building lot suitable and feasible for a hose house and to draw up specifications for the building.
By January 1897 prices had increased severely from the previous five years. The minutes omit the transaction of purchase but in April the plans for a building increased the proposed width from 26 to 28 feet and stipulated that the Company firemen were to finish their room at their own expense. By June 17 the cornerstone of the Hose House was laid and the building was finished that year. Thirty chairs were loaned by Peter H. Mitchell for the first regular meeting in the new room. A flag was added to the equipment.
In 1898 one stove, one lamp and one table were bought as well as thirty chairs to replace those loaned to the Company. In September an attempt was made to buy a gong, but the size chosen was not available. Again the Company tried to find a more suitable bell. In 1899 a fire bell, which had been on Shady Lawn, was donated by Peter H. Mitchell and placed in the tower of the Hose House.
The active year of 1902 saw the conception of an auxiliary fire company come into fruition. In September, Miss Helen M. Gould gave $400 for the purchase of a hook and ladder hand-drawn cart from Seagrave and Co. and two Babcock fire extinguishers. A hook and ladder group gathered on October 31, 1902, with the following present: C. W. Felton, A. G. Frost, E. F. Hammond, C. G. Meeker, B. A. Preston, R. B. Robinson, E. Snyder and A. W. Welch. The cart was delivered in January 1903 and was turned over to the Hook and Ladder Company in February with the recommendation that a new department be created. In April a special meeting was held to re-draft the Constitution and By-Laws. A week later uniforms were discussed and in June, plans to procure funds for the new company. In July the Hose Company gave one-half of the balance on the new hook and ladder cart to the new company. In September a lecture by Rev. J. Foster was co-sponsored to support the Hook and Ladder Company.
The two fire companies complemented each other, but each selected its own officers. One Fire Chief was elected for the combined group for first one company and next year, for the other.
The Hose Company and Hook and Ladder Company were combined in early 1929, but the Constitution and By-Laws, however, for the new Roxbury Fire Department were not finalized, approved and printed until 1935.
In March 1929 a committee went to New York to arrange purchase of a Mack truck with a Sanford pumper.. On April 5, fifty men under the leadership of James A. Griffin laid a concrete floor in the Hose House in anticipation of the arrival of the new fire engine due April 18. (Jim was promised the men's help in concreting his cellar.) Later a new ceiling and new doors were put in and a siren was installed.
In 1932 purchases included a dozen rubber coats, hats and boots; 2 gas and smoke masks; a special headlight for the pumper; and a sign to eliminate parking in front of the building.
At the annual meeting April 16, 1934, a decision was adopted to organize a Fire District to include school districts of Vega, Cold Spring, Meeder Hollow, Brookdale, West Settlement and Hardscrabble. A committee was appointed to conduct a study of fire departments and prepare a more appropriate set of By-Laws for Roxbury. Not until February 1935 was the work done and approved.
In November, 1935, oil heat was installed in the Hose House. In September, 1936, Ed Enderlin donated a steam furnace. In September, 1939, a new telephone alarm system was completed.
Many changes occurred during the 1940's because several workers and volunteers had joined the armed services during World War II. The Roxbury Fire Department was greatly affected. The Roxbury History Room has a photograph of a Department plaque that states; "Roxbury Fire Department pays tribute to those who have left our midst to fight for peace and freedom; Donald Weyl, Herbert Lutz, George Yanson, Hilton Bellows, Nelson Bellows, Lindon Morse, Norman Malcomson, Robert Shafer, Lynn Brady, Harry Gregory, Floyd Shultis, P. McLenithen, J. Wiedemann, Howard Brady, Kingsley Miller, Kenneth Brady, E. P. Schumann, Arnold Griffin."
Between 1929 and 1948 Fire Chiefs included Thomas Joyce, Henry C. Morse, Bruce Caswell and Lloyd Hoyt. In 1948 Elton La Rue became Fire Chief, a position he held until his retirement in 1973. His long term brought to the department an expanded program of training, interest in new methods and technology, and a search for resources to build a more knowledgeable fire company. He was the right man for the right time. Roxbury, like other communities in the United States, benefitted from the widespread impetus of bounding forward into the post-war era.
In 1966 the Freer store, formerly Fanning's, was purchased and torn down to make room for a new, modern, and larger split-level fire house. The good-looking structure includes three large rooms (one with a fully equipped kitchen) in addition to the garage for the vehicles. It was dedicated on April 15, 1967.
The former fire house, across from the school, was remodeled and is now the Town Hall for Roxbury. It can still be identified by its bell tower.
In the late 1960's the first ambulance was bought and the Ambulance Squad, a very important addition to the Fire Department, was organized.
In 1973 Elton La Rue, Fire Chief since 1948, retired. He was followed by Jack Lutz and then Marty Finch.
In addition to the excellent fire protection service, the Roxbury Fire Department has generously afforded opportunities for the community. It has organized Christmas projects for the children, pancake suppers, clambakes, dances, plays, lectures, banquets, games and movies. It has sponsored contests and given prizes for the best decorated homes at Halloween and Christmas. The new fire house provides space for elections to be held. The Department has one large room available for use by various groups for social gatherings and special programs as well as for Department meetings and training sessions. At Christmas-time the fire house is always one of the most attractively decorated buildings in Roxbury.
On September 2. 1890, the B. B. Bouton Hose Company was conceived. Charter Members of the Hose Company each paid three dollars for "defraying the expenses of perfecting the incorporation of such company and acquiring such property as may be required from time to time for the benefit of said company."
The first secretary was Thomas J. Weyl, one of two barber brothers who had recently moved to Roxbury. Mr. Weyl's record, presently located in the Griffin History Room at the Roxbury Library, lists the Charter Members as Thomas J. Weyl, James M. Meeker, F. Enderlin, John W. Griffin, Hohn Van Valkenburgh, A. Cartwright, Jr., C.O. Laymon, A. T. Starley, A. K. Enderlin, Geroge M. Orr, R. B. Hazard and T. W. Robinson.
A Constitution and By-Laws, required for such fire protection companies and secured from the State of New York, were copied verbatim into the first record book. Following these pages, Mr. Weyl copied a Constitution and set of By-Laws specifically for the local company. These were adopted on October 31, 1890. The Preamble of the Constitution for the B. B. Bouton Hose Company, repeated in that of the later Roxbury Fire Department, reads:
"Whereas, The strict observance of order being the only guarantee for the prosperity of any organization, it becomes necessary that we have certain laws and regulations, and that they be respected by every member of the Company; also that each member shall at all times have the welfare of the Company at heart so long as he shall be a member thereof, doing all in his power, so far as may be consistent with his own being, to advance its interests and the interests of the citizens for whom he labors; therefore be it hereby
Resolved, That we, the members of B. B. Bouton Hose Company, No. 1(Roxbury Fire Department), do solemnly pledge ourselves to obey our officers when on duty, to labor for the general good of the Company, and to conform to and abide by the following Constitution and By-Laws."
The primary organizer of the Hose Company was Burrett Beebe Bouton, father of the Honorable Arthur F. Bouton, Roxbury bank president and later State senator. B. B. Bouton lived to see the Hose Company named for him, its operation under the adopted Constitution, and the purchase of the first hand-drawn hose cart, a Gleason and Barley, in January 1891, for $150, financed by popular subscription.
In 1893, seeking property on which to build a hose house, the B. B. Bouton Hose Company met with many problems. One local man raised his price on a lot form $112 to $250 when the Company showed an interest in purchasing it. Another then offered a lot at a higher price. In March the Company turned to the Village Trustees, but by late summer they still had received no response. Not only was the hose cart without a home, but there was no suitable place for the firemen to hold their meeting. They usually gathered at Cartwright's store. In December a temporary arrangement was made to you;se the cart in a barn, but since the owner did not want to partition off a section for meetings, the agreement was cancelled.
In each Annual Report, a statement of property was required. The statement dated January 12, 1894, listed the following: 1 two-wheeled cart, 800 feet of hose, 1 crow bar, 1 ax, 2 wrenches and spanners, 5 nozzles, a drag rope, 1 "Y", 4 lanterns, 24 uniforms (coat, pants, cap). Early in 1894 a committee was formed to secure a certain bell, but the owner wanted to high a price. In February a dealer in Oneonta offered a cast-iron bell for only four dollars, but the size was thought to be too small. In March a 21-inch bell was bought for five dollars including shipping charged By the April meeting the bell had arrived agh the Roxbury depot. The next problem was where to put it.
By 1896 another nozzle and another uniform were added to the inventory. In the fall a new committee was appointed to look for a building lot suitable and feasible for a hose house and to draw up specifications for the building.
By January 1897 prices had increased severely from the previous five years. The minutes omit the transaction of purchase but in April the plans for a building increased the proposed width from 26 to 28 feet and stipulated that the Company firemen were to finish their room at their own expense. By June 17 the cornerstone of the Hose House was laid and the building was finished that year. Thirty chairs were loaned by Peter H. Mitchell for the first regular meeting in the new room. A flag was added to the equipment.
In 1898 one stove, one lamp and one table were bought as well as thirty chairs to replace those loaned to the Company. In September an attempt was made to buy a gong, but the size chosen was not available. Again the Company tried to find a more suitable bell. In 1899 a fire bell, which had been on Shady Lawn, was donated by Peter H. Mitchell and placed in the tower of the Hose House.
The active year of 1902 saw the conception of an auxiliary fire company come into fruition. In September, Miss Helen M. Gould gave $400 for the purchase of a hook and ladder hand-drawn cart from Seagrave and Co. and two Babcock fire extinguishers. A hook and ladder group gathered on October 31, 1902, with the following present: C. W. Felton, A. G. Frost, E. F. Hammond, C. G. Meeker, B. A. Preston, R. B. Robinson, E. Snyder and A. W. Welch. The cart was delivered in January 1903 and was turned over to the Hook and Ladder Company in February with the recommendation that a new department be created. In April a special meeting was held to re-draft the Constitution and By-Laws. A week later uniforms were discussed and in June, plans to procure funds for the new company. In July the Hose Company gave one-half of the balance on the new hook and ladder cart to the new company. In September a lecture by Rev. J. Foster was co-sponsored to support the Hook and Ladder Company.
The two fire companies complemented each other, but each selected its own officers. One Fire Chief was elected for the combined group for first one company and next year, for the other.
The Hose Company and Hook and Ladder Company were combined in early 1929, but the Constitution and By-Laws, however, for the new Roxbury Fire Department were not finalized, approved and printed until 1935.
In March 1929 a committee went to New York to arrange purchase of a Mack truck with a Sanford pumper.. On April 5, fifty men under the leadership of James A. Griffin laid a concrete floor in the Hose House in anticipation of the arrival of the new fire engine due April 18. (Jim was promised the men's help in concreting his cellar.) Later a new ceiling and new doors were put in and a siren was installed.
In 1932 purchases included a dozen rubber coats, hats and boots; 2 gas and smoke masks; a special headlight for the pumper; and a sign to eliminate parking in front of the building.
At the annual meeting April 16, 1934, a decision was adopted to organize a Fire District to include school districts of Vega, Cold Spring, Meeder Hollow, Brookdale, West Settlement and Hardscrabble. A committee was appointed to conduct a study of fire departments and prepare a more appropriate set of By-Laws for Roxbury. Not until February 1935 was the work done and approved.
In November, 1935, oil heat was installed in the Hose House. In September, 1936, Ed Enderlin donated a steam furnace. In September, 1939, a new telephone alarm system was completed.
Many changes occurred during the 1940's because several workers and volunteers had joined the armed services during World War II. The Roxbury Fire Department was greatly affected. The Roxbury History Room has a photograph of a Department plaque that states; "Roxbury Fire Department pays tribute to those who have left our midst to fight for peace and freedom; Donald Weyl, Herbert Lutz, George Yanson, Hilton Bellows, Nelson Bellows, Lindon Morse, Norman Malcomson, Robert Shafer, Lynn Brady, Harry Gregory, Floyd Shultis, P. McLenithen, J. Wiedemann, Howard Brady, Kingsley Miller, Kenneth Brady, E. P. Schumann, Arnold Griffin."
Between 1929 and 1948 Fire Chiefs included Thomas Joyce, Henry C. Morse, Bruce Caswell and Lloyd Hoyt. In 1948 Elton La Rue became Fire Chief, a position he held until his retirement in 1973. His long term brought to the department an expanded program of training, interest in new methods and technology, and a search for resources to build a more knowledgeable fire company. He was the right man for the right time. Roxbury, like other communities in the United States, benefitted from the widespread impetus of bounding forward into the post-war era.
In 1966 the Freer store, formerly Fanning's, was purchased and torn down to make room for a new, modern, and larger split-level fire house. The good-looking structure includes three large rooms (one with a fully equipped kitchen) in addition to the garage for the vehicles. It was dedicated on April 15, 1967.
The former fire house, across from the school, was remodeled and is now the Town Hall for Roxbury. It can still be identified by its bell tower.
In the late 1960's the first ambulance was bought and the Ambulance Squad, a very important addition to the Fire Department, was organized.
In 1973 Elton La Rue, Fire Chief since 1948, retired. He was followed by Jack Lutz and then Marty Finch.
In addition to the excellent fire protection service, the Roxbury Fire Department has generously afforded opportunities for the community. It has organized Christmas projects for the children, pancake suppers, clambakes, dances, plays, lectures, banquets, games and movies. It has sponsored contests and given prizes for the best decorated homes at Halloween and Christmas. The new fire house provides space for elections to be held. The Department has one large room available for use by various groups for social gatherings and special programs as well as for Department meetings and training sessions. At Christmas-time the fire house is always one of the most attractively decorated buildings in Roxbury.
