Paris, Tenn.–The Henry County Historical Society will hold its regular quarterly meeting on Thursday, November 7th beginning at 6 p.m. at the Paris-Henry County Heritage Center, 614 N. Poplar Street, in Paris, Tennessee.
President David Webb will give a presentation on the history of Henry County High School, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The public is invited.
Following the program, the society will go into a work session to draft a contract for work on its 1927 American LaFrance fire engine. The apparatus will soon be transported to Pipestone Restorations in Waverly, Tennessee, to begin repairing and restoring the motor.
In February, 1928, the Paris 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.”
Donations toward the fire engine project can be made to the Henry County Historical Society, c/o President David Webb, 2316 Hamlin Dr., Paris, TN 38242. For online donations, the historical society has set up a GoFundMe account at: https://www.gofundme.com/fireengine
Photo by Shannon McFarlin.
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