By Shannon McFarlin WENK/WTPR News Director
Paris, Tenn.—The Paris Fire Department’s former 1927 fire engine has been found and the Henry County Historical Society is seeking help from the public and local organizations to return it to its home.
The 91-year-old American LaFrance fire engine was found near Portland, Oregon, almost 2,300 miles from home. The City of Paris owned the engine—which was called a pumping and hose car—from 1928 until it was retired and sold to a local buyer in 1960. The engine was used when the Paris Fire Department was located in the former City Hall building on the south side of the court square in downtown Paris.
The Historical Society is seeking to bring the engine back home and restore it to its original condition. At a meeting Monday evening, some 30 members of the Historical Society enthusiastically voted to pursue the project.
Historical Society President David Webb—who also is a county commissioner—said, “We are excited about not only the discovery of the apparatus, but also because it is in factory condition. It is fully equipped with a bell, siren, ladders, hoses, nozzles, etc. Its original paint, gold leaf pin striping and scrolls, and even lettering spelling out PARIS FIRE DEPARTMENT, are still visible.”
After the fire engine was sold to the local buyer in 1960, it was acquired in the 1980s by Myron and Betty Lou Curtis of Portland, Oregon, who Webb explained used to travel across the United States and Canada collecting horse drawn vehicles and other antiques.
In 2016, the engine was donated by the Curtis family to Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in Tigard, Oregon, and it became part of the fire department’s collection of antique firefighting equipment. Auxiliary volunteers participate in community events such as auto shows and parades.
Webb learned of the pumper’s whereabouts last year and wrote to the fire department’s chief and CEO Michael Duyck, to inquire if it was possible for the engine to return to Paris.
Webb received a favorable reply, and that fire department and the Curtis family supported transferring ownership of the engine back to its original hometown. “We are grateful to TVF&R for donating the fire engine,” Webb said.
Webb informed the Henry Co. Historical Society that the old fire engine had been found several months ago.
Webb said if enough funds can be raised to transport the fire engine back to Paris, it will be temporarily stored at the Paris Fire Department’s Station 2 next to the Henry Co. Medical Center. It will need a permanent home eventually, he said, noting that the fire engine could be used in local parades and automobile shows and could be displayed at school and other events.
After restoration work has been completed, the fire engine will need a place to be permanently stored, exhibited, and driven out for events. “We envision to have the fire engine in parades, antique automobile shows, schools, senior centers, churches, businesses, etc.,” Webb said. “It may be possible to fit out the hose bed for the transportation of caskets for funeral services. We don’t want the vehicle to just sit in a storage facility or a museum exhibit, but to be out and about as an important part and symbol of our community.”
The apparatus has a brass bell that was rung at Barton Field each time the Grove High School football team scored. “It would be great if we could revive that tradition at Henry County High School football games at Patriot Stadium,” said Webb.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, the historical society is asking as many individuals and organizations as possible to make monetary and in-kind donations of both large and small amounts that may be tax deductible. Donors will be recognized at various levels, and current or former firefighters may be honored through contributions.
“It will take a community effort to support the transportation, restoration, and preservation of this fire engine for generations to come,” Webb said. “The immediate need is to raise funds to transport it from Oregon and possibly purchase a trailer. Financial or in-kind help is needed for engine and body restoration, insurance, gasoline, oil, tires, spark plugs, batteries, regular maintenance, etc.”
“If enough funds can be raised quickly, we hope to take delivery of the apparatus by the end of December. Paris Fire Chief Michael Williams has agreed to temporarily house the engine at Fire Station 2 near the Henry County Medical Center. The next steps will be to get the motor in excellent running condition and restore the body,” Webb said.
Once it arrives in Paris, the engine will go through detailed evaluations to determine its exact needs. Plans are for the apparatus to be repainted to its factory color scheme of two-tone red accented with gold leaf details.
“We would like to bring in a restoration expert from North Carolina to reproduce the original lettering, striping, and scrolls. The artist maintains detailed patterns and the various levels of decoration that American LaFrance offered on fire engines from the 1920s,” according to Webb.
Webb has researched the history of the vehicle by combing through newspaper records at the Henry County Archives and looking through his father’s collection of historical photographs. “My dad, Wayne Webb, who retired from the Paris Fire Department, really came through with some nice images of the engine, including its last ceremonial run in 1960.
Webb’s findings reveal the state’s fire inspection bureau repeatedly recommended the city increase its firefighting capability because of its substantial building growth. The city fathers agreed, so a committee was formed in 1928 to consider the purchase of a new “combination pumping, chemical, and hose truck.”
A three-man committee was appointed, that included Mayor Ed M. Culley, to review bids from three fire apparatus companies. In February, 1928, the city council signed the contract to purchase a “new pumping and hose car” from the American LaFrance-Foamite Corporation of Elmira, New York. For $11,500 and the trade-in of the 18-year-old existing vehicle, the city purchased a new fire engine as well as an 11-year-old pumper from Hickman, Kentucky.
The 1927 LaFrance was shipped to Paris on March 4, 1928. The 10,000-pound vehicle has a six-cylinder 130 horsepower engine, dual chain rear axle drive, wooden artillery wheels, and a 750 gallon per minute rotary gear pump with four hose connections. The vehicle was described as “modern in every respect.” As reported in The Parisian newspaper, “the City of Paris will be one of the best equipped of the smaller cities in the state insofar as fire-fighting equipment is concerned.”
The fire engine is still in surprisingly good shape.
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