1882 Remington Fire Engine

2002 Meadville Tribune Newspaper Article

The following article was written by Jean Shanley of the Meadville, PA Tribune, and published on July 4, 2002.  We appreciate the Meadville Tribune for granting us permission to copy it for our readers,
 

Classic fire engine comes to Fellows Club Department CONNEAUTVILLE -- A rare old fire engine that fought many fires in the borough will be on display at the Fellows Club Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service in Conneautville for members only on July 11 at 7 p.m. and to the general public on July 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. and July 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m.         It also will be pulled by a young team of Belgian horses driven by Dave Nicolls of Conneautville during the parade on July 13.         The 1882 Remington horse-operated fire engine was built by the famous Remington gunmaker in 1882 in Ilion, N. Y.  There are only two of these fire engines left in the United States  --  one in Conneautville and the other on display at the Phoenix, Ariz., Hall of Flames.         After several disastrous fires struck the borough and the borough-owned fire department disbanded because of lack of newer equipment, the Borough Council of Conneautville in August 1882 voted to purchase the fire engine that was on loan.  The purchase price was $600.         The fire department never owned any horses; whoever was closest to the fire hall when the fire gong was sounded, dropped their wagon and hitched the horses to the fire engine.         The fire engine has a Howe patent three piston pump which can be operated by a team of horses or 24 men walking in circles around it.  The pump is operated when the teams of horses hitched to two long poles attached to the turntable on the pump walk around the engine, making the pistons operate.         The three pistons together make for a smoother flow of water through the hose, according to Allen W. Clark, a member of the department.  The fire engine weighs about 3,000 pounds and is mostly steel.         Clark said this was one of the new inventions in fighting fires at the time.  Most were horse-pulled and man-operated at the same time.  Mr. Howe, who owned the patent, came to Conneautville to train the firemen on use of the engine.         Council requested the engine never be taken more than a mile from the fire station.  However, in December, 1898, L. C. Grove Co. in Springboro caught fire with $20,000 in losses.  The fire engine responded on an awaiting work train at the depot from Conneautville to Springboro in three minutes and 10 seconds, records show.         In 1882, Remington Fire Engine was used up and a motorized fire engine was purchased in the 1920's by the Fellows Club, a men's social club, which was asked by council to fund and operate the fire department.  The engine, kept in storage until November 1981, was taken to the Firefighter's Historical Museum in Erie for restoration and to be placed on loan as an exhibit of firefighting equipment of years gone by which can still be seen today.         Richard Robb, the museum curator and president, has done a tremendous effort in restoring the fire engine to its original condition, Clark said.

Back to:
Introduction
Minutes of the Meeting held by the Borough Council during which approval was voted to purchase the fire engine,
The New Fire Engine newspaper article, July 22, 1882.
Howe Patent Advertisement Flyer.
The Remington's First Big Fire newspaper article, 1886.
Conneaut Valley Homecoming Parade Summary with several photos, July 2002.

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