STOP 5: The Old Colchester Fire House

The Hayward FIre Company was officially formed on February 6 1854. At a borough meeting, officials voted to organize a fire company after 30 years of debate. Colchester’s largest employer, Nathaniel Hayward, offered to donate hoses, buckets, and other resources to get it started. The first fire apparatus arrived in October 1854 and was stored at Mr. Hayward’s rubber company until September 1855, when this building was finished.

This building served the fire company from 1855 to 1988 when construction of a modern facility was completed about ¾ of mile northwest of here. Additional bays were added over the years to accommodate new equipment. The first motorized fire truck arrived in 1924. Subsequently, new equipment was added or replaced in 1935, 1948, 1958, and countless other times until the 1980s.

During its time, this building served as jail, courthouse, and library in addition to it housing fire trucks. In modern times, it was used for Inter-County Ambulance (the local volunteer ambulance) until 1993, when ICA was absorbed by the fire department. After that, it was used for storage as well as for the Colchester Police until early to mid-2000s.

With grant money, the building was restored for use as a museum. The numerous additions were demolished bringing the structure back to roughly what it would have looked like in the 1920s.updated-sound