History Tour of the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Co., Inc.

History Tour of the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Co., Inc.. . , History , 1845…The first Chestertown Fire Company was owned and maintained by the Mutual Fire Insurance Company. They paid $1,000 for a hand pumper in 1878 that was built in 1804 by Philip Mason, in Philadelphia. In 1883, the Ins. Co. contributed liberally to a new water system project, and 15 years later turned over to the Corporation of Chestertown the engine house on Cross St. and all the equipment in it. 1908…the members of the Fire Company got together and built a new firehouse from blocks they made themselves. The new building was dedicated October 11, 1909 and the company's first bell was donated in November. 1938 saw further improvement when the WPA funded a new firehouse at 118 N. Cross St.., A valuable resource of the first company is the Ladies Auxiliary, formed in 1927, as well as the Explorers of Firemanship of the Boy Scouts of America, formed in 1963., The Mayor and Council of Chestertown received a Federal Grant in 1978 to build a new building for the Fire Company. The new Fire House, located on Maple Ave., was dedicated on October 6, 1979. The Mayor and council voted to name the administrative section of the firehouse in honor of former Mayor and Life Member of the Fire Co., P.M. Brooks, Jr.., Famous Fires , Chstertown has had three major conflagrations in its history. The first occurred in 1910 when fire consume almost the whole block between Cross St. and Spring Ave. on High St. The second occurred in the spring of 1953 when the Vita Food Cannery was almost totally destroyed by fire. The third happened the morning of July 16, 1954, when the Kent Manufacturing Co., a munitions/fireworks factory, burned in a series of explosions that threatened the very existence of much of Chestertown., Site 1 , 1845 , Mutual Fire Insurance Co. established the first fire co. , 205 High St., Site 2 , 1879 , Fountain Park – the location of the first known engine house. , Corner - High and Cross Streets, Site 3 , 1899 , Office and meeting hall were located here – known as the Thomas W. Eliason Bldg.White Swan Tavern - 200 block , High St., Site 4 , 1908 , The volunteers built this firehouse from blocks they made themselves. , 113 S. Cross St., Site 5 , 1938 , Built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) federal funding. , 118 N. Cross St., Site 6 , 1978 , The Town Council voted to construct this building using federal Local Public Works (LPW) grant funding. , 211 Maple Ave.