The age of lumbering was a period of natural development for a fire department. Timber served not only as a natural resource for the development of the lumber industry but also as a natural resource for the disasters of fire.
An early lumberman named Matthew Cobb built the first mill on the banks of Pere Marquette Lake. When a fire broke out, it was obvious that there was a need for a fire department. Cobb organized the first local department. Equipment consisted of a few buckets, axes, shovels and a row of wooden barrels filled with water and placed along the roof of the mill.
Eight years after the City of Ludington was formed, a fire broke out in the city and consumed 67 buildings including the fire station. As a result of the “big fire”, a water plant and a system of mains to carry water throughout the city was constructed. In 1883, a city hall was built which included the first department named the Phoenix Hose Company #1. A second division was organized in 1884 in the Fourth Ward, and was named the Phoenix Hose Company #2. Members of each division wore distinctive and colorful uniforms.
Ella Mae, the wife of, Mike McDonald, a member of the Ludington Fire Department, for many years, loans the fire engine on display at the village to us. The fire engine is a 1928 Boyer Fire Apparatus mounted on a Graham Brothers chassis. The engine has been out of service for over 40 years.
The the Historic White Pine Village is operated by the Mason County Historical Society, which also operates the nearby Port Of Ludington Maritime Museum.
Website Design By Nation Media Design
Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.