Westminster Firehouse

Postcard

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Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland

Name/Title

Westminster Firehouse

Entry/Object ID

1957.043.003

Description

Postcard. Westminster Firehouse, Clerk's Office, April 6, 1906. B/W photo shows the interior of the Clerk's office after the fire in April 1906. The room is dirty. There is a light fixture hung from the ceiling with two lights. There is a wooden railing close to the photographer beyond the railing is a table covered in paper and things. To the left is a wall covered in cabinets and a that is marked "The Miller Safe and Iron Works Baltimore, MD." There is a telephone on the far wall in between two large windows. There is a radiator along the right wall. A sheet is hung between the cabinets and the wall along the left wall. On front, in white, "Clerks Office"; in blue ink "April 6-06". On back in black ink "April 6 - 1906 Mrs. Harvey Lockard donor". 5.5" x 3.5"

Acquisition

Accession

1957.043

Source or Donor

Lockard,

Acquisition Method

Gift

General Notes

Note

Completed in 1896, the building sat at 66 E. Main Steet. It continued to serve the Westminster Fire Engine & Hose Co. #1 until 1998. It still stands today. Henry H. Harbaugh’s business, the Palace Livery Stable, and home were next door to the firehouse. A fire of unknown origin erupted there just before 3:00 a.m. on April 6, 1906. The fire began at the back of the building and swept through the frame structure so rapidly that Harbaugh, his wife, and their three sons barely escaped, fleeing the building barefoot and in their nightclothes. Harbaugh’s losses amounted to over $18,000 and included 45 vehicles, harness, household goods and furniture, clothing and 22 horses. The intense heat of the fire ignited the window frames of the firehouse and eventually spread to the interior of that building. The firehouse was saved but suffered extensive damage.