Rochester, New York One Place Study

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Rochester, New York

In May 1817, Roswell Hart, Willis Kempshall, John G. Bond, Abner Wakelee, and Francis Brown were elected as the village's first fire wardens. They were tasked with making monthly inspections of all houses in the village. In June of that year, Rochester citizens voted to appropriate $350 to buy fire-hooks and ladders and to take other measures to protect the settlement against fire. The first fire company was organized on October 19th, 1817 and included: Everard Peck, William P. Sherman, Josiah Bissell, Jr., Albert Backus, Roswell Hart, Jehial Barnard, Isaac Colvin, Hastings R. Bender, Ebenezer Warren, Jedediah Safford, Reuben Darrow, Ira West, Caleb L. Clark, Darius C. West and Charles J. Hill.

Sources

• Devoy, John (1895) Rochester and the Post Express: A History of the City of Rochester from the Earliest Times--The Pioneers and their Predecessors--Frontier Life in the Genesee Country--Biographical Sketches, Published by the Post Express Printing-Company, Rochester, New York, 1895.