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Grafton's First Firehouse

Grafton's first firehouse and information related to it unfortunately leaves us with more questions than answers. With over 120 years since the firehouse would have been used, it is difficult to gather detailed information about the structure but that doesn't mean we do not have any information about it.

To start, we know the firehouse would have been built between July 1896 and March 1904. Since the fire department was formed in July of 1896 and with the 1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the Grafton area showing the firehouse on its map, we have a timeframe of when the firehouse would have been built.

And thanks again to the 1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the Grafton area, we know that the firehouse was located about 250 feet south of the Hotel Nieson (what is today the Grafton Hotel apartments) on the west side of Milwaukee Street. Today, this places the firehouse somewhere in the area west and likely a little south of 12th Avenue and Beech Street.

The 1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance map also lists the firehouse as having one chemical engine, one chemical supply wagon, one hook & ladder truck, and 200' of 1-1/2" rubber hose. In addition, the 2nd floor is listed as a hall presumably for department meetings and gatherings.

A bell tower is also seen in photos of the firehouse in the front portion of the building and would have presumably held the department's fire bell to alert members. Below are notes from the year 1900 in the Grafton Volunteer Fire Department Centennial booklet about purchasing the bell:

At the February meeting, it was resolved to purchase a Stooling Fire Bell weighing between 300 and 350 lbs. A 350 lb. bell was ordered from a foundry in Missouri. The price of the bell was $.25 per pound.

At the May meeting, it was reported that the total price for the bell was $92.75 less freight of $1.83, bringing the price to $90.92.

Source: Grafton Volunteer Fire Department centennial : 100 years of volunteer service to the Grafton community, 1896-1996. 1996

Yet as the first decade of the 20th century came to a close it is unclear what happened to the original firehouse. The 1910 Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the area does not show the building on its map. And the fire department is listed in 1910 to reside at the corner of Cedar Street and Water Street (what is today Cedar Street and 13th Avenue).

Perhaps in time more details will emerge from other sources to help paint a clearer picture of the Grafton Fire Department's first home.