Moving the 1789 Fire Society Trunk

September 26, 2012

It was supposed to be a bigger affair. Plans to move the Federal Fire Society archive from the vault at Piscataqua Savings Bank across Market Square to the Portsmouth Athenaeum originally included an escort by fire department members. That plan was trimmed down to one, as Assistant Fire Chief Stephen Achilles helped carry the wooden trunk containing the records of the 1798 organization from the city’s oldest bank to the city’s ancient research library just a block away. It was, all the same, an historic event, and I was honored to be asked to tag along.

The Federal Fire Society still exists, although its small hand-picked membership (no more than 35 members by club rules) no longer put out fires. But modern members are required to own two leather fire buckets similar to those used in the days of the “bucket brigades” that attempted to quell the fires that plagued Portsmouth and other old cities back in the days when tightly-packed wooden buildings could easily be destroyed. All it took was a spark from a fireplace or an upset oil lamp, or any of a dozen sources.

Leather fire bucket from the Portsmouth Historical Society, photo by Ralph Morang

Groups like the Federal Fire Society formed to protect the homes and property of its members. Despite their efforts, hundreds of buildings burned in a series of three downtown fires in 1802, 1806, and 1813. Modern members must also own a bag like those used to hold the valuables of those whose homes were engulfed by flame. Thieves were all around in the early days and FFS members were required to guard the valuables of other members. Putting out the fire was secondary to preserving possessions. The fires sparked the Brick Act of 1814 that legislated the use of brick instead of wood in buildings downtown.

For decades now the Federal Fire Society has been a semi-secret club, staying out of the limelight. It existed mostly as a social club where members met annually for dinner and drinks to invoke the memory of their founders. The group’s treasures were kept in the barn of one of the members until about 15 years ago when they moved to the vault at the bank. The trunk that the FFS members carried through the street yesterday is only about 100 years old. But inside it are all the artifacts of the original 1798 organization and all the memorabilia gathered by FFS members since. I was allowed a quick peek inside the trunk.

It was a quiet event, but it truly was historic. Rarely does a cache of artifacts like this find its way into public view. The FFS members have been good stewards of the past, and now, finally, they are passing their treasures to the rest of us. The fact that the city has recovered the amazing Kearsarge pumper at the same time is a wonderful coincidence. All ancient cities have a memory of fire. In Portsmouth, fire is second only to our shared memory of the sea.