How they Put Out the Fire 150 Years Ago

Courthouse Museum Helps Merced Fire Department Celebrate Anniversary

Old Betsy, the first piece of firefighting equipment acquired by the Merced Fire Department in 1974. Photo: Steve Newvine

Imagine it is 1874 and a downtown Merced building is on fire.

Someone runs to the nearby Merced Fire House. An alarm is sounded. Volunteer firemen rush to get the gear they need. The station’s pumper, Old Betsy is hauled to the scene of the blaze.

That pumper had been in service in Stockton for more than a decade before being sold to the Merced Fire Department in 1874. The fire department was established one year earlier in 1873.

The organization is celebrating a One hundred fiftieth anniversary this year.

Old Betsy is still here, though long retired.

Vintage firefighting equipment that was part of the opening ceremony for the exhibit titled: 150 Years Later: Old Betsy’s Legacy Continued. Photo: Steve Newvine

For a few decades, Old Betsy was one of the focal points at the Merced County Courthouse Museum.

On loan from the Fire Department, the vintage pumper gave Museum visitors something to admire about the past, something to compare with today’s modern firefighting equipment, and something to look at with a sense of pride.

At a ceremony on October 12 in front of the old Courthouse, the Museum launched the exhibit titled: 150 Years Later: Old Betsy’s Legacy Continued.

Three rooms in the upper level of the Museum have been dedicated to showcasing the development of the city fire department.

Old photographs have been reproduced showing Old Betsy and other pieces of the firefighting arsenal in action.

Memorable fire events such as the destruction of a lumberyard in 1951 are captured in the displays.

That particular blaze could be seen as far south as Fresno and as far north as Modesto according to accounts in the exhibit.

Old Betsy was used in firematics-type competitions and demonstrations up until a crack formed on the pumper’s frame. Photo: Merced County Courthouse Museum exhibit 150 Years Later: Old Betsy’s Legacy Continued.

Old Betsy was already in use by the Stockton department when Merced acquired it one year after forming the fire department.

"It was the first fire engine of the Merced City Fire Department,” Museum Director Sarah Lim said as she wrote about how the engine was built in Rhode Island. “It was shipped around Cape Horn and purchased by Merced from Stockton Eureka Engine Company No. 2 in 1874.”

On the City of Merced website’s fire department history section, the narrative states the name Old Betsy was given by the publisher of the Merced Express local newspaper.

The fire engine was used for over three decades. 

Members of the Merced Fire Department engage in a bucket brigade competition as part of the opening ceremony for the exhibit. Photo: Steve Newvine

While Old Betsy was removed from firefighting service as more efficient equipment came online, it was used in fire department competitions and public events.

A crack in the wood frame of the pumper forced a retirement from these activities.

“It is a fantastic representation of the Merced Fire Department,” Fire Chief Derek Parker said. “Old Betsy will return to the firehouse for continued maintenance.”

Chief Parker says the department is in the planning stages of preparing a secured display for Old Betsy.

Eventually, it will be on display at Merced City Hall. 

If that continued maintenance is finished in 2024, it may be ready for another welcoming party exactly one-hundred-fifty years after first being brought to the City to help protect the property and people of Merced.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His new book Beaten Paths & Back Roads is available at Lulu.com or at the Merced County Courthouse Museum Gift Shop.

Steve thanks the Atwater Rotary Club and the Merced Women’s Club for hosting him for talks about his new book.

The exhibit 150 Years Later: Old Betsy’s Legacy Continued will be featured at the Courthouse Museum throughout the fall.