The image above was taken February 1884 and is from the Frank Thomson Collection, part of the Salida Centennial Collection.
On back of original: 1. Sam McClung 2. ? Dansbury 3. Samuel King 4. Charley Smith (?) 5. William Haight 6. H. Forth 7. Frank Churcher (Foreman) 8. Call Smith 9. Fred Bateman 10. Samuel Morgan 11. Harry Whitehead 12. Chas. Hawkins 13. Richard Griffith 14. Theo Dobbie 15. Morgan Smith 16. M.L. Hicks 17. J.P. Smith 18. George McLean
The following newspaper articles below detail the beginnings of Salida Hose Company No. 1:
The remarkable document found below is the 1892 Subscription List which was dedicated to the reorganization of Salida’s Hose Company No. 1, which nearly disbanded in May of 1892. This list contains signatures of most of the notable townsfolk of Salida, including A.C. Hunt, William Harbottle, and Peter Mulvany and everyone who signed this list committed to paying a set amount to keep the fire department operational. This document is part of the Salida Fire Department’s collection.
1892 Salida Fire Department ledger
Meeting minutes from the Salida Fire Department dated 1892 to approximately 1907. Includes a list of fire calls made by the department with damage, fire type, and locations listed.
Salida Fire Department Chiefs:
Adolph Unger – 1892
Frank B. Churcher 1893 – 1904
Max Lessing 1904 – 1918
Ralph Lang 1918 -1923
Warren Britton 1923-1948
W.J. Ramey 1948 – 1949
Woodson D. Bennett 1949 – 1953
Thomas M. Bergman 1953 – 1961
Milton Myers 1961 – 1970
Jack Henderson 1970 – 1973
Charles Culp 1973 – 1979
Jim Gray
Pete DeChant
Rod Goosman 2003 – 2004
Don Taylor 2011 – 2012
Doug Bess 2012 – 2023
Salida Hose Company No. 1’s Hook and Ladder Truck. Salida Centennial Collection.
Salida Fire Department members out front at 124 E Street, their current home. Salida Centennial Collection.
Salida Fire Department members out for a parade in their Kissel Fire Truck. Bob Rush Collection.
This image (taken around 1910) of William Wickers shows his remodeled popcorn wagon that used to be Salida Fire Department’s Hook and Ladder Truck. Wickers used to farm in Chaffee County but later in life sold popcorn and ice cream on the corner of F and 1st from his food truck.
From the Bob Rush Collection.
Another image of Buttons and William and Mary Wickers with the wagon. They are pictured in front of 124 E with some fire department members.
From the Bob Rush Collection.
The Salida Fire Department in one of Salida’s many parades, ca. 1920s. From the Salida Museum Negatives Collection.
The Kissel engine overheating during a parade, ca. 1950s. From the Salida Museum Negatives Collection.
SFD Redbook 1955-64
Fire Department historians Clarence Route, Jack Henderson, Bob Wilcox, and Robert Kidwell saved various ephemera, but mainly news clippings, into a red scrapbook. These date from 1955 to 1964.
8mm film recorded by one of the Salida Fire Department firefighters:
Structure fire at the Hay House on Poncha Boulevard in the late 1970s
SFD, Champions at the Hose Race in 1978 in Sterling, Colorado
1974 FIBArk parade on E. 1st Street
SFD at a Hose Race in 1976 in Gunnison, Colorado
SFD at a Hose Race in 1976 in Gunnison, Colorado
SFD at a Hose Race in 1980
Dousing a Salida fire truck at the Salida Centennial Parade, 1980
Salida Fire Department members displaying their trophy haul from a state convention.
Back row: Bill Smith, Jim Gray, Wes Waggoner.
Front row: Kevin Nelson, Tim Nelson.
The Salida Fire Department and South Arkansas Fire Protection District at 124 E Street. Taken November 2001 by Roger Whitacre.
