Fire Bucket, "North Troy"
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This leather bucket features scroll work and lettering that reads “North Troy.” This may refer to the community of North Troy, Vermont. The town of Troy was chartered in 1801, and in 1803, its name was changed from the Abenaki Indian “Missisquoi,” to Troy. Because of its nearness to Canada, this area had a large number of French Canadian immigrants. The early settlers of North Troy were described in a 1966 Vermont Guide as “a high-spirited, reckless lot with a strong love for excitement.” North Troy, a small village in the northern part of the town, was incorporated in 1876. A series of disastrous fires destroyed much of North Troy. For example, a fire in 1868 consumed the town store, hotel, a grocery, and two barns.
label: Description
content: By 1868, a number of American cities had acquired steam engines for their fire departments (the first successful American steamer was built in Cincinnati in 1852). Steam engines could pump more water in a shorter amount of time, and required less manpower than the old hand-pumped engines. Many cities were also transitioning from volunteer to professional firefighting during this time period. New York, for example, got a paid fire department in 1865. Running a steam engine required specialized expertise, not just the strength and endurance that communities valued in their volunteer firefighters. The new paid departments were guided by the principle of efficiency. A small community like North Troy, however, would not have been able to afford the latest firefighting technology, and in all likelihood would not yet have established a paid fire department when it was ravaged by fire in 1868.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: classified
content: Fire Fighting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0233.0287
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0287
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bucket, fire
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in; 28.575 cm x 18.415 cm