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Volume 051-2 - April 1997 (8 pages)
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Page: of 8
ene”
Nevada City fire fighters proudly display a hook and ladder wagon and two handsome engines that propelled it up and
down the city’s steep inclines. Notice the finely pulverized street dirt . (Firehouse photo from Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Goyne.)
firehouses when an alarm sounded; the first man to hitch a
horse to a hose cart and speed it to the fire received $2.50. At
night, a nearby livery stable kept in readiness a horse with
singletree harness in place. Eventually the hose companies
acquired their own horses, and a stable was added to the rear
at Firehouse No. 1, with connecting door to the equipment.
In her book, Gold Cities, Doris Foley told the story of
Nick, a big gelding who was one of a long line of fire horses
to pull the ladder wagon. When he found inactivity between
fires boring, he would force the stable lock with his teeth, go
to the front of the firehouse and pull on the dangling fire bell
rope. By the time the excited volunteers arrived, Nick would
be standing between the shafts of the ladder wagon eagerly
waiting to be hitched. Even after he was sold to a laundry for
delivery use, the fire bell would bring him galloping to the
scene, laundry wagon, sputtering driver and all.
Remaining from the days of its being one of two local
firehouses, on the ceiling hang two long poles wound with
rope, with barbs at the top. These were called pike poles and
were used to pull down burning walls. Visitors often ask if
these were harpoons! An ancient leather fire hose is mounted
on a wall; under it is a photo of the Nevada City Fire
Department in their resplendent uniforms.
10
This building remained an active firehouse until 1938,
when a larger one was built on upper Broad Street, next to
the City Hall.
Soon after the Nevada County Historical Society was
organized in 1944, a Museum Committee was formed to
collect, display, and preserve the memorabilia of the county.
Doris Foley was the first to chair this important committee,
followed by Elmer Stevens. A policy in the newly organized
society did not permit the president to head a standing committee, so Elmer and Doris shuffled between being president
and museum chairman those first few years until the historical museum in the Firehouse was well established. Isabel
Hefelfinger took over the chairmanship in 1952, and for
twenty years devoted her time and energy to its development.
During these years it became known as the Cultural Museum,
but now it simply is called the Firehouse Museum.
Each artifact was carefully cataloged. One of the first
policies adopted for museums required that all articles displayed be of Nevada County origin or have belonged to am,
Nevada County pioneer. Over the years this has changed, ana
now Mother Lode artifacts or gold rush relics are acceptable.
During Isabel’s presidency (1950-51), the museum was
renovated and Grass Valley’s Chinese Joss house display was