A Growing City; A New Fire Company

This postcard view from 1907 looks west into Washington Square, and to the right you’re able to see the recently built firehouse of the Western Enterprise Fire Company No. 4. This firehouse was built in 1906 and was torn down in 1984 so that a new, modern structure could be built for the company.

By Mike Marotte III

Time Traveler Mike Marotte III takes us back in history with the Hagerstown Western Enterprise Fire Company No. 4. As the city was growing during the mid-1860s, a definite need developed for an additional fire company on the west end of the city.Citizens of the area met to start a new fire company that would be known as the Western Enterprise Fire Company No. 4. This fire company was incorporated on September 19, 1872. This company’s first piece of fire apparatus was a hand-drawn pumper nick named “Big Six.” This hand pumper was used originally by Hagerstown’s Independent Junior Fire Company, and then it was given to the newly organized Western Enterprise Fire Company. Here are four different views from the early 1900s of the Western Enterprise Fire Company No. 4.

Considered the “Pride of the West End,” the fire house was built in 1906, and it was a gem of the community. In the foreground is the driver of the horse-drawn fire apparatus leaving its quarters to answer an alarm in 1911.

In this view the fire apparatus driver leads his team of horses out in front of the quarters of the Western Enterprise Fire Company during the early 1900s. If there weren’t any fire alarms during the day, then the horses were exercised around 5 p.m. Eventually these days would pass as the implementation of the new motorized fire apparatus was coming soon.

The Western Enterprise Fire Company’s first quarters were located on Franklin Street in Hagerstown, and then the new fire station was built in 1906 at Washington Square. This fine structure stood until 1984 at which time it was razed for the new structure that was built at the same location. The fire company will celebrate its next anniversary on September 19, 2025.