Everett Taylor: Taylor's Yarns

What a difference a century makes.

It was just more than 100 years ago that the first paid Tyler Fire Department began operating with only a half dozen men, a chemical wagon and two hose wagons, all horse-drawn. They also had 3,000 feet of hose. The first day of operation was Jan. 1, 1908.

David Crim, the unchallenged authority on TFD lore, has a feature editorial on the 100th anniversary in the latest issue of The Back Shop, the quarterly publication of the East Texas Historical Fire Society that he edits.

Before that year, Tyler had a volunteer fire department which in 1907 had 40 members and three paid men. When the paid department began operation, the volunteer department was reorganized with 25 members whose function was to assist the paid department when needed.

Original members of the first paid department were Chief J.J. Daglish, Horace Alston, Mace Goodman, Marsh Love, Dean Barnes and a man whose last name was Hodges (first name unknown), Crim's report said.

Daglish previously served two terms as chief of the volunteer department in the 1980s, and was elected mayor in 1915 by a vote of 632 to 24.

In 1908, Tyler had a population of approximately 12,000, Crim's article notes. The largest city industry was the Cotton Belt Railroad. The main commercial area was centered on and around the Courthouse Square. Only the streets around the Square had been paved at that time.

"Other streets had numerous problems; chug holes, sand and mud when it rained," the article said. "Often the fire department lost valuable time in making their runs."

That year, the southern boundary of Tyler was around Rusk Street and the eastern limit was Beckham Avenue. On the north, the city extended a few blocks to the north of Bow Street. To the west, Palace Avenue was the city boundary.

Some areas had few or no fire hydrants, requiring the use of bucket brigades or possibly the Chemical Wagon, Crim added. The fire department made some runs to locations just outside the hill.

In his research, Crim has found stories about fires in the area called "Dawson Hill," which today can be identified generally as the hospital area. Fire horses "would be exhausted from pulling the fire wagons from the Locust Street Fire Station to this very hilly area."

The city's water system then was privately owned by Tyler Water Company and Victory Lake was the water supply, with a capacity of 25 million gallons of water. The lake was approximately a mile southeast of the courthouse square.

A major activity for many Tyler families on Sunday afternoons a century ago, Crim's article said, was a trip to the Tyler Fire Department Zoo, located on the west side of the Locust Street Fire Station. The zoo featured such creatures as hawks, eagles, owls and "numerous kinds of small animals," plus a couple of alligators that resided under the hose drying ramp.

Coming up to date, Tyler's Fire Department soon will be operating out of 10 stations, with two of them running both engine and truck companies.

The Tyler Fire Department 100th anniversary feature is just one of several interesting reports in the February "Back Shop" edition.

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On another historical note, the Smith County Historical Society's March meeting date has been altered because the first Tuesday of the month this year is Primary Election Day.

The new meeting date for March is Tuesday, March 11. Robert Reed, the society's current president who also is a member of the Tyler Tap Chapter of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society.

Reed will present an overview of his new Tyler photographic history book; appropriately titled "Tyler." Released by Arcadia Publishing on Feb. 18, it includes 230 vintage photographs covering Tyler's history from founding through the 1960s.

The society will be selling copies of the book at the meeting, which also will serve as a book signing. Meetings of the Society are open to "members, their guests and interested members of the public."

Everett Taylor
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