Evening journal., 1907-04-18
FRIENDSHIP COMPANY
READY FOR HOUSING
Will Dedicate and Occupy Its New House ir
TatnaII Street Tomorrow
Evening

Jones. Jonathan Rumford and John
Ferris. IN behalf Of the Friendship Fire
Company No. l. praying that the bur
CESS and his assistants would grant %
them the care and possession OF the
two FIRE engines belonging 20 the bor-
ough, In order to exercise .hCm. and
the said company to be ready to act IA
any part OF the town ON the occasion OF
a fire. The petition. being reasonable,
was granted"
AT the time Of the granting Of this
petition. Doctor John McGrnley occu-
pied the position Of burgess and was
also q member of the Friendship Com
pany. These two engines remained 10
the possession of the Friendship until
1siO when one OF them was given 10
the Washington Fire Company, upon
its institution. The other one Went 90
pieces shortly after The five at Nc
Lanes cotton mill, which was situated
at the southwest corner OF Tenth and
Orange streets.
During that period running through
the Revolutionary War, fire matters IN
Wilmington came to stlndstill Peace
being declared. the company got down
TO business again, as the records show
that i'm 1854 the company sent a petition
10 the Town Council, praying for The
use Of the Town Hall for meeting pur-
poses This request was granted. This
hall stood at the corner Of Second and
Market streets, and was called the
Town Hail." or the Common Hall"
The company met there in October, lIs4,
and held their first meeting IN a public
place. This meeting was presided over
by Bancroft Woodcock.
First House
The first house owned by this COM
pany stood on Sixth street near Ml--
kot. II was removed, however, I'm the
year 1857. to a lot on Queen street. now
Fifth. as the following petition VIII
prove:
"Town Hall, October 1857.
"By the committee or the Friendship
/ Fire Company. No. /. It being repre-
sented to this house that the engine
/ house is IN "A runous state, by reason
Of the situation on which Il stands
being exposed to the sun; BE 1T RE
] SOLVED That the said engine hous'
be removed 10 a lot Of Joseph Warner
on Queen street, by the Friendship Fir'
| Company, and this house will defrl,
] the eNnenses thereof Joseph Warna
having agreed not 10 charge any rem
for the ground upon which it is a
stand. In case the said Joseph Warne
or his assigns should want TO erect
house upon. the aforesaid .ot upon ten
days notice from the said Joseph War
ner, the same shall be removed at tn
. expense Of the corporation"
The expense OF removing his hous
, was $500 1t stood on Queen stree
, now Fifth. between Market and SIMPLE
streets, and was Of frame. The com
P pany occupied these quarters until IN
5 year 1900. when they built new hous
]. on tho northeast corner Of Sixth an
p, Shipley streets. which house was
, two-story frame, with helfry attached
, The company's next move was in lS2
, to a site now occupied BY the smit
Building. on Market street below Sev
9 enth street. This was the home OF IN
company untn 1876. when it remove
q TO Ninth and King streets and fro
there in 1S49 TO Orange above Tent
. In 1859 the company made their las
r house on West Tenth street, at Oh
J head Of Shipley street.
Members Justly Proud
e The Friendship members are prou
! Of the record Of their company. We
/ they may be. When one pursues thei
S past history and realizing the fact tha
{ they are older than the nation itself
4 when we stop to consider that it's mem
- bers heard the joyful tidings that wei
] waited from Philadelphia ~ the ol
e bell, that liberty had been proclaime
q throughout the land to all the inhab
tants thereof; when we are satisfie
that some of their members bore tn
hardships and laid down their lives o
p the field of battle that liberty migf
, be forever: when we know that man
Of these members of this company no.
= living risked their lives I'm the serviC
I Of their country; that many of thei
{ have filled positions Of trust and homo
r In National. State and Municipal al
fairs, and to-day It stands honored an
respected by the citizens OF Whining
o ton. whose interests 1t has so long an