Boca Raton in Palm Beach County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 30, 2025
1. Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1 Marker
Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1, Old Betsy, is a 1925 American LaFrance Type 75 Triple Combination fire engine, built in Elmira, New York. The Boca Raton Town Council approved funds for a fire engine on October 21, 1925. On April 20, 1926, studies were interrupted at Boca Raton Elementary School while children rushed to watch as the gleaming red fire engine was unloaded from the Florida East Coast Railway. That September, when the Great Miami Hurricane struck, Old Betsy responded to a hotel in Hollywood where it pumped flood water for over 100 hours. It was Boca Ratons first and only firefighting apparatus for two decades. It continued to provide first or second responses until 1960. Its last big fire was the San Remo Condominium Villa Verona roof fire on October 16, 1967. Old Betsy retired in 1968. Restoration of the fire engine to near original factory condition took place between 1991 and 1993. In 1994, the truck competed in two antique fire engine musters, finishing Best of Show and Best Restored. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 2001, Old Betsy is housed at Boca Raton Fire Station
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A Florida Heritage Site
Erected 2024 by Thomas R. Wood, Rosita B. Wood, Susan Gillis, Boca Raton Historical Society, City of Boca Raton, and The Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1272.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1925.
Location. 26° 20.982′ N, 80° 4.215′ W. Marker is in Boca Raton, Florida, in Palm Beach County. It is on South Ocean Boulevard (Florida Route A1A) just south of East Palmetto Park Road. Fire Engine is located inside the firehouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 S Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton FL 33432, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Florida, on the Gold Coast, on the Treasure Coast, and in Greater Miami. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 30, 2025
2. Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1 Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: South Beach Pavilion (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Sanborn Wall (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sanborn Square (approx. one mile away); Boca Raton Town Hall (approx. one mile away); F.E.C. Railway Depot, Boca Raton (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Barefoot Mailmen (approx. 2 miles away); Old Floresta Historic District (approx. 2.1 miles away); Boca Raton Army Air Field B-34 Crash (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boca Raton.
Photographed by Florida Memory, circa 1925
3. Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1
Credits. This page was last revised on May 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 7, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 438 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 7, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
