Posts Tagged GEORGE HARGREAVES

History of Evanston Fire Department – Part 6

More from Phil Stenholm:

At 4 AM on Saturday morning, September 14, 1889, fire struck the brand-new J. J. Foster Building (stores and apartments) at the northeast corner of Church & Benson. With Fire Marshal Sam Harrison absent from the village, former EFD Chief W. R. “Bob” Bailey took command, assisted by several former members of the legendary Pioneer Fire Company.

A main broke after water-pressure was increased, causing the direct-pressure system to be ineffective. With very low water-pressure, firefighters were unable to get enough water on the fire, and the blaze communicated to the 2nd Baptist Church chapel to the north and threatened Haven School to the east. (The original Haven School was located at the northwest corner of Church & Sherman). Bailey called for assistance from both the South Evanston and Chicago fire departments. The fire was finally extinguished after a Chicago F. D. engine company arrived with a steam fire engine, but not before $25,000 worth of damage.  

On Saturday, December 26, 1891, Evanston firefighters battled a blaze in a barn situated behind the French House. (Located at the northwest corner of Hinman & Greenwood, the French House was one of Evanston’s two hotels at the time). The barn and its contents were quickly destroyed, and high winds threatened to extend the fire to several surrounding homes, as well as to the hotel itself. Chief Harrison called for assistance from neighboring towns, and firefighters from the Village of South Evanston, the Village of Rogers Park, and the City of Chicago responded.

Although the assistance provided by the South Evanston and Rogers Park fire departments was appreciated, it was the steam fire engine from the Chicago F. D. (Engine Co. 55, under the command of Capt. Galbraith) that made the difference. Supplying three 2-1/2 inch hose lines, Engine 55 made quick work of the battle, and the neighborhood was saved.

The Village of Evanston (population 12,072) annexed the Village of South Evanston (population 3,205) in 1892, forming what is known today as the “City of Evanston.” The Village of South Evanston’s waterworks had failed during 1891, and Evanston would only provide water to South Evanston if its residents agreed to annexation… which they did, albeit reluctantly.

Evanston’s firefighting force was increased from four men to seven, and the position of Fire Marshal was made full-time (and the Fire Marshal’s annual salary was increased from $200 to $1,000) after the annexation. The annual salary for Evanston’s “line” firefighters was increased from $480 to $600 in 1893.

The fire & police departments moved into the new city hall at the northwest corner of Davis & Sherman in 1893. The fire department was evicted from the facility in 1897 however, amid complaints from fellow city hall occupants regarding residual smoke from the fire department’s steam fire engine, and the sickening odor caused by the stabling of the EFD’s horses inside the building.     

Lincoln Avenue is what Main Street was called at the time Evanston annexed South Evanston in 1892, and by 1894, the street name still hadn’t been changed. The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse was the only school in South Evanston at the time. It was located at the southeast corner of Lincoln & Benson (Main & Elmwood), the future site of Central School, and consisted of the original school building (a three-story brick structure — two floors plus attic, with a full basement), and an attached annex (wood-frame & brick) that was built in 1890.

This incident occurred on the first day of Spring (Wednesday, March 21, 1894) at 10:20 AM.

SOBS AND MOANS FILLED THE AIR AS THE FLOOR WHERE THE CHILD WAS LAST SEEN BROKE AND CRASHED DOWNWARD. BUT THEY WERE SUDDENLY CHANGED TO SHOUTS OF JOY AS BRAVE SAM HARRISON AND GEORGE HARGREAVES CAME INTO VIEW BEARING THE LIMP FORM OF THE CHILD FOR WHOM THEY HAD RISKED THEIR LIVES. THEIR FACES WERE BLACKENED AND THE BLOOD WAS RUNNING FROM A PAINFUL WOUND IN HARRISON’S HAND.

THEY FOUND THE CHILD IN ONE OF THE AISLES, LYING FACE DOWNWARD. THE SMOKE WAS SO THICK THAT IT WAS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THEY RETAINED STRENGTH TO REACH THE DOORWAY LEADING TO THE STAIRS. ONCE HARRISON FELL, BUT FORTUNATELY RETAINED HIS SENSES. IT WAS THEN THAT HE INJURED HIS HAND.

JUST AS THEY REACHED THE HALL OF THE REAR ANNEX, THE FLOOR AREA OVER WHICH THEY HAD GROPED WENT DOWN. HAD THEY BEEN A MOMENT LATER, BOTH RESCUERS AND GEORGE HARGREAVES MUST HAVE PERISHED.”

Chicago Herald, March 22, 1894.

Fire destroyed the school, but all of the children were rescued, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Evanston firefighters (Sam Harrison and George Hargreaves in particular) and an expressman named Sam Mack. Mack was passing by the school en route to the South Evanston C&NW RR depot when he noticed smoke pouring from the school’s windows, and children crawling out onto a second floor ledge. Mack calmly directed the children to jump into his arms to escape the flames, repeating the drill until the arrival of the Evanston Fire Department. Chicago F. D. Engine Co. 70 assisted Evanston firefighters in quelling the blaze. 

The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire would stand for more than ten years as the single worst fire in Evanston’s history, until the Mark Manufacturing Company fire of December 1905.

In the aftermath of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, the Evanston City Council gave the EFD virtual carte blanche to improve its operations. Chief Harrison successfully lobbied for acquisition of a fire alarm telegraph, with placement of fire alarm boxes on street corners to provide citizens with the means to report a fire quickly. In the case of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, a citizen ran three blocks to report the fire in person at Fire Station # 2 on Chicago Ave..

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Evanston Fire Department history – Part 5

Final installment from Phil Stenholm 

Evanston’s first three full-time paid firefighters were hired in June 1888 at an annual salary of $480 per man. Jack Sweeting, who had been one of the part-timers since the previous December, plus newcomers Edward Murray and James Peck. This was preceded by most of the members of the part-time company resigned en masse the previous August in a dispute with Chief Harrison over the issues of financial compensation for firemen, plus poor sanitary and living conditions in the firehouse (paint shop).  This was the second job action by Evanston firefighters. The third was when Murray and Peck, two of the new full-time firemen, refused to spend 2/3 of their day patrolling the Davis Street business district in search of violations of the Fire Limits ordinance. Murray and Peck were summarily fired for insubordination, and were replaced by Andrew Carroll and W. V. Rake.

In 1893, the company moved into the new city hall at the northwest corner of Davis & Sherman, across the alley from the old paint shop, and then to the new Police/Fire Public Safety HQ facility at the northwest corner of Grove & Sherman in 1897.

The company at Station #1, known as Engine Co. 1 beginning in 1895, would continue to grow over the years, so much so that it was split into two companies (Engine Co. 1 and Truck Co. 1) in 1903. George Hargreaves was the first captain of Truck Co. 1, with nine firefighters assigned to each of the two companies by 1904. 

Meanwhile, volunteer fire companies were organized in South Evanston and in North Evanston.

The ten-man South Evanston Fire Company was organized by Christopher Molinelli, after he was appointed Village of South Evanston Fire Marshal on July 16, 1888. The Village of South Evanston was incorporated on January 14, 1873. The South Evanston Fire Company was equipped with a hand-drawn hose-cart built by Edison Salisbury & Company, and purchased by the Village of South Evanston in 1884, plus a hand-drawn hook & ladder wagon, and occupied the south end of the South Evanston Village Hall that was dedicated on September 5, 1888 at the northwest corner of Chicago & Madison.

The Village of South Evanston was annexed by the Village of Evanston in 1892 thus forming the new City of Evanston. The South Evanston Fire Company was disbanded by Evanston Fire Marshal Sam Harrison on June 6th and replaced by two full-time paid fireman operating a horse-drawn hose cart. Carl Harms was the first captain at Station #2, and he spent his entire 26-year career there. Ed Densmore, a member of the South Evanston Fire Company transferred to the Evanston Fire Department after the South Evanston Fire Company was disbanded.

The Evanston Police Department also occupied the former South Evanston Village Hall from 1892 to 1897, utilizing the facility as its South Precinct under the command of former South Evanston Police Chief Henry Mersch, who was given the title of captain in the EPD. The old South Evanston Village Hall, constructed as a combination village hall/firehouse/police station-jail back when South Evanston was its own village, was razed and rebuilt as a more-traditional (and useful) three-bay firehouse on the same site during 1902. It was completed in February 1903. 

The North Evanston Fire Company was organized and accepted for service with the Evanston Fire Department on October 1, 1888, as water-mains were extended into North Evanston. Unlike the Village of South Evanston, North Evanston was part of the Village of Evanston after being annexed by the Village of Evanston section by section over a number of years. It was never a separate incorporated village. The 13-man North Evanston Fire Company was strictly a volunteer/auxiliary unit that was created mainly to provide fire protection for the Central Street business district. They we’re equipped only with a hand-drawn hose cart stored at the C&NW RR Central Street train depot The company could not go very far.

The North Evanston Fire Company was disbanded on January 31, 1901, when Hose Co. 3, a horse-drawn hose cart and three full-time paid firefighters was organized at the brand new Fire Station # 3 at 2504 West Railroad Avenue (later known as Green Bay Road).  None of the members of the North Evanston Fire Company joined the EFD when the company was disbanded as the company consisted mainly of merchants and wealthy squires who would have had no interest in a firefighting career. S. C. “Carl” Harrison, Jr, the son of Chief Sam Harrison, was the first captain assigned to Station # 3. Carl Harrison would later serve as Chief Fire Marshal, from December 14, 1905 until March 9, 1914. 

The full history starts HERE, then Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

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Evanston Fire Department history

From Phil Stenholm:

120 years ago today…

“Lincoln Avenue” is what Main Street was called at the time Evanston annexed South Evanston in 1892. By 1894, the street name still hadn’t been changed. The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse was the only school in South Evanston at the time. It was located at the southeast corner of Lincoln & Benson (Main & Elmwood), the future site of Central School, and consisted of the original school building (a three-story brick structure–two floors plus attic, with a full basement), and an attached annex (wood-frame & brick) that was built in 1890. This incident occurred on the first day of Spring (Wednesday, March 21, 1894) at 10:20 AM.

“SOBS AND MOANS FILLED THE AIR AS THE FLOOR WHERE THE CHILD WAS LAST SEEN BROKE AND CRASHED DOWNWARD. BUT THEY WERE SUDDENLY CHANGED TO SHOUTS OF JOY AS BRAVE SAM HARRISON AND GEORGE HARGREAVES CAME INTO VIEW BEARING THE LIMP FORM OF THE CHILD FOR WHOM THEY HAD RISKED THEIR LIVES. THEIR FACES WERE BLACKENED AND THE BLOOD WAS RUNNING FROM A PAINFUL WOUND IN HARRISON’S HAND.

THEY FOUND THE CHILD IN ONE OF THE AISLES, LYING FACE DOWNWARD. THE SMOKE WAS SO THICK THAT IT WAS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THEY RETAINED STRENGTH TO REACH THE DOORWAY LEADING TO THE STAIRS. ONCE HARRISON FELL, BUT FORTUNATELY RETAINED HIS SENSES. IT WAS THEN THAT HE INJURED HIS HAND.

JUST AS THEY REACHED THE HALL OF THE REAR ANNEX, THE FLOOR AREA OVER WHICH THEY HAD GROPED WENT DOWN. HAD THEY BEEN A MOMENT LATER, BOTH RESCUERS AND JENNIE JOHNSON MUST HAVE PERISHED.”

– Chicago Herald, March 22, 1894. ____________________________________________________________________

Fire destroyed the school, but all of the children were rescued, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Evanston fire fighters (Sam Harrison and George Hargreaves in particular) and an expressman named Sam Mack. Mack was passing by the school en route to the Lincoln Avenue C&NW RR depot when he noticed smoke pouring from the school’s windows, and children crawling out onto a second floor ledge. Mack calmly directed the children to jump into his arms to escape the flames, repeating the drill until the arrival of the Evanston Fire Department. Chicago F. D. Engine Co. 70 assisted Evanston fire fighters in quelling the blaze. (The EFD would return the favor the following August, responding to a request from the citizens of Rogers Park to help fight a large fire involving several buildings at Clark & Greenleaf… The City of Chicago had recently annexed Rogers Park, but had not yet extended its water-mains to the neighborhood).

The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire would stand for more than ten years as the single worst fire in Evanston’s history, until the Mark Manufacturing Company fire of December 1905. In the aftermath of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, the EFD was given virtual carte blanche to improve its operations. Chief Harrison successfully lobbied for acquisition of a “fire alarm telegraph” (with placement of fire alarm boxes on street corners) to provide citizens with the means to report a fire quickly. (In the case of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, a citizen ran three blocks to report the fire in person at Fire Station # 2).

At a cost of $4,000, a “Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph” (initially with 20 fire alarm boxes) was installed in Evanston over a period of three months between November 1894 and February 1895. By 1905, 37 boxes were in service, and by 1935 there were 51 boxes in service. The fire alarm boxes and telegraph system were replaced by a network of 80 police/fire “emergency telephones” (manufactured by Western Electric) in 1958.

LOCATIONS OF THE 20 FIRE ALARM BOXES PLACED IN SERVICE FEBRUARY 15, 1895:

12 Church & Benson
14 Chicago & University
15 Maple & Foster
16 Foster & West Railroad (later known as “Green Bay Road”)
18 Ridge & Noyes
21 Emerson & Ashland
23 Dewey & Noyes (intersection obliterated by canal construction in 1908)
25 Dewey (later known as “Eastwood”) & Central
27 Livingston & Grosse Point Avenue (later known as “Prairie Avenue”)
28 Harrison & McDaniel
31 Maple & Lake
32 Wesley & Grove
34 Asbury & Crain
35 Washington & Asbury
37 Oakton & Custer
41 Hinman & Davis
42 Chicago & Dempster
46 Forest & Lee
47 Judson & Keeney
48 Forest & Greenwood

In addition to providing to the public the means to report a fire, the fire alarm telegraph also had another function. Members of the Fire Department (normally a company officer or the chief’s “buggy driver”) could communicate updates and “progress reports” from the scene of an incident to the chief’s residence, the city’s fire stations, and/or the police switchboard. Messages could be sent (via telegraph) both ways, so that a fire fighter monitoring a particular alarm box could be advised of another alarm elsewhere in the city or other important information.

Shortly after the Fire Alarm Telegraph was placed in service, the Evanston City Council purchased an Ahrens 2nd-size 600 GPM steamer with a two-horse hitch from the American Fire Engine Company. The rig was christened “City of Evanston No. 1” and was placed into service at Station # 1 in April 1895, just two months after installation of the fire alarm telegraph was completed. A second steamer (a 700 GPM 2nd size “Metropolitan” steamer with a three-horse hitch built by American-LaFrance) was placed into service in 1906.

Former Waterworks engineer J. A “Dad” Patrick was hired as the Fire Department’s “Engineer” in 1895, and Edward Mersch was hired as the “Assistant Engineer” in 1896. (Mersch would later serve as Chief 1901-1905). A knowledgeable engineer was worth his weight in gold in the “steam era.” The position of “Engineer” was the second highest-paid member of the EFD (second only to the Chief) in the years prior to World War I. In fact, as late as 1904, the salary of Engine Co. 1’s assistant engineer was as much as the salary of its company officer!

“Civil Service” was mandated & established for City of Evanston employees in 1895. Only five members of the ten members of the EFD (Jack Sweeting, George Hargreaves, Carl Harms, Edwin Whitcomb, and J. A. Patrick) qualified under Civil Service. (The position of Chief was exempt from Civil Service). Just like being on active duty in the military, all firemen were on duty at all times, although each man was permitted to take meal breaks away from the firehouse each day, and an occasional furlough at home.

A Fire & Police headquarters was constructed at the northwest corner of Grove & Sherman in 1897. Fire Station # 1 (at 807 Grove Street) featured four large bays for apparatus, with an adjacent fifth bay used as a garage for the police ambulance. The facility was abandoned in the summer of 1949, and the structure was razed. The land was used for more than 25 years as a parking lot for the Valencia Theatre, before one of one of Evanston’s first high-rise office buildings (originally known as “One American Plaza”) was built on the lot in the 1970’s (with construction of the 18-story structure beginning in December 1975, before being completed in 1977).

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