Hope Fire Company Engine House

1887

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Iowa Historic Site

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Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 19, 2025

1. Hope Fire Company Engine House Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by James E. Jacobsen, 12/9/1982:
The Hope Fire Company Engine House survives with relative integrity and is of importance as a surviving example of a combination municipal building and fire engine house, as well as a rare application of Moorish design motifs in a small Iowa town.
A Moorish style pressed tin pediment with central sunburst motif with central finial is centered above a panel bearing the date 1887. Wave-like half pediments flank the central pediment. A three-story bell and hose tower stands at the southwest corner. The tower projects

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 19, 2025

2. Hope Fire Company Engine House
(west/front elevation)

The marker is mounted at eye level on the left side of the front tower entrance.

eight feet beyond the main facade in front. The walls are of brick on a stone foundation, the brickwork being laid in eight course American bond. The bell tower continues the pilaster theme; the same window shape and the same decorative characteristics as found in the main facade. Doors are located at the tower base and exit from the second-floor level to the balcony level. A circular stone window with stone surround is fronted between the second and third floors. Third floor windows were vented with wooden slats. The tower top features triangular pediments on each side between pilaster caps, with sunburst motifs. On the front a corbelled triangular design is placed below the cornice and pediment. Originally a wooden belfry topped the tower but has been replaced by a metal siren tower.
The Hope Fire Company Engine House attests to the willingness of a county seat community in Iowa to provide large and ornate buildings to house public services. The building exemplifies the evolution of firefighting technology over time. Finally, the building is illustrative of the building skills of Andrew A. Jones of Toledo.
The Toledo Hope Fire Company

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 19, 2025

3. Hope Fire Company Engine House
(southwest elevation)

organized in 1876 as a volunteer organization and was originally housed in a simple two-story frame engine house, built in 1883, which was located across the street from the subject structure. The replacement building, designed by Mr. Gruppe, was built in late 1887 by Andrew A. Jones (1884-1923) who in 1910 was considered as “prominently known in Toledo as a contractor and builder.”
The building represents the continuum of development in firefighting capabilities on the local level. Toledo progressed from purchasing several fire extinguishers, digging fire water cisterns, establishing fire districts, building a simple equipment storage shed, to finally building a substantial fire engine house. The firemen themselves were required to raise funds to complete the interior of the structure. It was 1891 before the woodwork upstairs was completed. Between 1876 and 1915, the fire equipment remained the same while such items as hose types and quantities were improved. By 1959 the demands of modern firefighting equipment required the large-scale alteration of the first floor of the building.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 19, 2025

4. Hope Fire Company Engine House (northwest elevation)

Excerpt:  The Moorish architectural style was an unusual choice for a small town in Iowa. Originally, centered double doors with Moorish panels were located in the center of the first floor. They had to be removed because they were inadequate given the larger size of modern fire equipment. The style is still found on the pressed tin pediment with a sunburst motif and the central finial above, as well as the decorative work on the corner tower. Toledo city hall was located in part of the second floor until 1928. The fire house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.