The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-07-15
15Oth
anniversary
of
Relief Fire Co.
of
Mount Holly

DerS OF Relief Fire Engine Company,
of Mount Holly. 1t was the 150th
anniversary of the organization of the
company. 1t had been decided that the
occasion must not be allowed to pass I'M
noticed, and.a committee was appointed
to see that the event was properly cele
brated. The committee was: William II.
Mason. Jr., Joseph c. Cowgirl, John M.
Huff, Harry w. Kempte, Joseph S.
Shreve. These gentlemen agreed upon a
public meeting, and the opera house was
selected as the place.
Invitations were sent to firemen in vari-
Gus cities, and on Friday evening large
audience was gathered in the place de-
signated. The opera house was tastefully
decorated. Around the house were the
old lanterns and leather buckets carried
by members of the company over cen
fury ago. The buckets were filled with
flowers. The members of Relief, with in
vited guests occupied the stage, the pub
lie being admitted to the floor of the house.
At seven o'clock the bell of America
ued until $50 strokes had been sounded.
This bell was the original bell of Relief
and was preseI ted to America when the
former company purchased a new one.
Col Charles NJ. Sloan, president of the
company, presided at the meeting. Music
was furnished by an orchestra and after
the first selection Mr.. Joseph G. Cowgirl,
historian of the company, was introduced.
He has always taken great interest in
the history of the company and has care
fully examined and guarded anything that
would throw light on its life. Mr.. Cow
gill and others were fully persuaded that
Relief was organized many years before
the dates in possession but nothing author
itative could be found ON the subject so
the date of 1905 had to be accepted. One
day the late Samuel Read went into Mr.
looking over some old papers belonging to
the late John Dobbins, destroying those of
no value, and | found this book that ap.
pears to be an old minute book Know
L
would give it to you" Mr.. Cowgirl
looked at the book and was pleased be-
yond question to find what was the nee
essary link to prove that Relief Fire
ization in America.
Then a history of the company was
commenced and from the contents of the
book Mr.. Cowgirl prepared one of the
most interesting papers ever read in this
town. We give it:
One hundred and fifty years ago we were Eug-
lsh colonists. true and loyal subjects of King
George H., stretched in thin line along the At
] lautic sea-board. Florida to the south of us was
| in the possession of Spain. while TO the north in
| Canada were the French, who, by a series of forts
along the Great Lakes and down the Ohio
valley and Mississippi River to the Gulf
of Mexico, sought to prevent any westward
extension. So sparsely was the country settled
that it was not until two years later that the
French and English clashed for the possession of
the forks of the Ohio River, where the City of
/ Pittsburg now stands, and yet it was only about
three hundred miles inland But the contest for
the control of the continent was about to begin.
Had the French been as good coloniSts they
were heroic explorers the result might have been
different. At that time there nestled along the
banks of the Northam ptou River, near the base
| of Mount Holly, little hamlet known as Bridge
| town. II was busy little centre with its saw.
| mill, grst mill and iron works. To the north on
|
| To the south on Iron Works Hill stood the Epis-
| copal Church of St. Andrew.
| How large place our little town was at that
| time we do not know, but in the absence of posi-
| tive information, we may, perhaps, formulate an
| idea regarding it from letter written by Cover
| nor Belcher hive years prior, who says 81 have
seen several of the pal towns of this govern
ment and have not that had in it two
hundred houses, and after weighing all things.
have pitched upon this city speaking of Buriing-
| toni, though but village of 10 houses, for the
| place of my residence Now If Burlinpton
ruf At hat ctar rod rxffI1 A
tfncff0n Of being the principal foOH and the home
of the Colonial Governor, had only 10 houses
what would you expect of our smaller town !?
Seven years prior to the time of which are
speaking the census of Burlington County, which
then included Mercer County, showed only o,s03
WHITES A map of our town would show High
street, down whose steep descent our early set
tiers came when they branched out into the pines
Extending in an ''easter1y directou'' from High
| street would find New street tnow known as
Brainard street., then spoken of as being on the
back side of the town. 1t not until about this
street; our present day Pine street would appear
but only as the street which leads from Josiah
Whites to the Iron Works., or as the "road lead
ing from the mill race to the iron works bridge"
White street, known to Church street,
would appear, as would Race street known to us
as White street. II our Washington street APP
peared as other than Hthe great road to Philadel-
phia", it would be Reynolds street and not
after Washington, who was then but twenty
years old and unknown outside of Virginia At
the intersection of High aud Mill streets stood a
two-story frame building. the lower part of which
was used as market house, the upper room as
the town hall. In this room body of men met to
organize Fire company. As the result of that
meeting at the Town Hall and in full accord with
the saying that great oaks from little acorus
grow. we point with pride to the Relief Fire
Company of Mount Holly, which was given birth
the 18th day of July, in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and ffty-two, as the
britannia Fire Company in Bridgetown' They
formulated series of articles beginning with
"We whose names are hereunto subscribed re-
posing special confidence in each others friend
ship and for the better preserving and
ia InffiC
from fire; having each of us at proper
cost provided quantity OF leather buckets accord
ing to the numbers thereof, with each of our
names respectively subscribed, each bucket being
marked with our own names respectively"
They then went on and embodied the later day