175 years of fighting fires

JCFD marks anniversary with museum open house

A proof of the commemorative coin being sold as a fundraiser for the Fire Museum.
A proof of the commemorative coin being sold as a fundraiser for the Fire Museum.

The Jefferson City Fire Department will celebrate its 175th birthday with an open house at the Fire Museum at 911 E. Miller St.

The public is welcome to the celebration at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to tour the museum and share in some light refreshments, Division Chief Jason Turner said.

The museum is being developed in the historic Fire Station No. 2, which recognized its 80th anniversary in March 2015. Before its transformation into a museum, the JCFD used teh brick-and-stone structure for training and storage.

It was on Jan. 26, 1842, that the first Jefferson City fire companies were organized to provide fire protection for the then-bustling river port, Turner said.

The city's official version of fire department history reports that on that long-ago January date, "resolutions were presented to the city by Jno. Gorden, Col. William Minor, Gen. James Minor, Thomas Miller, William Kerr, Horsley Rea and C.W. Stuart. These resolutions created two fire companies and even today they still govern the fire department. Two fire companies formed that night, one was east of Madison St., with members Jno. Gorden, Charles Meredith, P. Steinberger and J.M. Duncan; the other west of Madison with members James Crump, Thomas Miller, C.W. Stuart and Herman Robinson. Jno. Gorden became Jefferson City's fire chief."

The birthday party Wednesday also will serve to launch a fundraising campaign selling commemorative coins to help fund improvements and pay the overhead at the Fire Museum.

Mayor Carrie Tergin bought one of the first of the coins, which sell for $10 each, at last Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

Fire Chief Matthew Schofield was on hand with retired Capt. Tim Young to present the coin to the mayor and report on the progress of the Fire Museum.

Young also capitalized on the occasion to offer a brief, colorful primer on the history of the fire service in the state's Capital City, incorporating that official version with many anecdotes he has collected in his role as the unofficial historian of the department. Young will be at the Fire Museum Wednesday to tell JCFD lore to all who are interested, he said.