Fire Partly Destroyed Pelham Town Hall in 1908

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Shortly after a large Republican rally in the building, a "mysterious" fire partly destroyed Pelham's Town Hall in the early morning hours of October 24, 1908.  This was the predecessor to today's Town Hall.

A brief article about the fire appeared in the

More 19th Century Baseball and Firefighting References

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Regular readers of the Historic Pelham Blog know that I routinely post items concerning 19th century baseball and 19th century firefighting in Pelham.  Today's posting combines both.  Baseball and firefighting references appeared in a news article published on

The Darling Triplets: Three Brothers Among Pelham's Earliest Firefighters

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In the early 1890s, firefighting units sprang up on City Island, in Pelham Manor and in Pelhamville within the Town of Pelham.  Shortly after New York City annexed City Island and nearby areas in 1896, an interesting article appeared in The Evening Telegram

Firefighting Units on City Island in Pelham During the Early 1890s

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 For decades, Pelham's Town Historians have confined their research on the development of fire fighting units in Pelham to those units that evolved in Pelhamville and in Pelham Manor.  However, a number of volunteer fire fighting units arose in the early 1890s on

1901 Newspaper Article About Fire that Burned New York Athletic Club Clubhouse on Travers Island

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On January 5, 1901, the clubhouse of the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in Pelham Manor burned to the ground in a horrific fire.  Many newspapers and periodicals covered the event.  An interesting article about the fire that included a photograph of

Contest in 1891 To Determine Which Steam Fire Engine Company Could Throw a Stream the Greater Distance

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A brief, but interesting item appeared in the August 1, 1891 issue of the New Rochelle Pioneer.  It announced a contest to determine which steam fire engine company could throw a stream of water the greater distance.  The event included an offer of interesting

Reorganization of the Minneford Engine Company on City Island in February, 1891

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I continue my efforts to document some of the earliest efforts to develop organized fire fighting units in the Town of Pelham.  I recently ran across one of the earliest references yet involving the "re-organization" of the Minneford Engine Company on City

Pelham Manor Fire Chief Pleads for Taxpayers to Authorize Purchase of Village's First Fire Engine

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In 1913, The Pelham Sun carried a report prepared by George S. Chappell, Chief of the Pelham Manor Fire Department, in which the Chief noted that the Villages of Pelham and North Pelham had purchased a "motor driven" fire engine although the taxpayers of