About The Station
The Laurel/Rex fire station is a historic, two-story Italianite style firehouse in downtown York, Pennsylvania. The oldest building, the Laurel engine house was constructed in 1877-1878 as a hand-drawn fire engine house. The building was constructed of brick and was painted in the traditional cream and brown Victorian scheme.
The original engine house was expanded in 1887 when a horse stable was added to the rear of the building, and in 1891-92 when the Rex Hook & Ladder Company's truck house was built adjoining the Laurel's engine house.
At the southwest corner of the building is a three-story bell tower, and on the northwest corner is a second faux bell tower atop the Rex truck house. The station measures 48 by 96 feet.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Timeline
March 9, 1874 - Laurel approves the purchase of land at the corner of Duke and King Streets from John A. Weiser.
April 24, 1877 - Plans drawn by Beaton Smith for a new engine house were presented to the company and were accepted.
May 10, 1877 - The contract for the building of the engine house was awarded to Schnable and Stair at a bid of $6,780.
June 1877 - H.P. Schnable notified the Laurel of the dissolution of Schnable and Stair. The membership unanimously awarded the contract to Harrison Stair.
July 24, 1877 - The ceremonial laying of the cornerstone for the new engine house was held.
November 17, 1877 - The Little General weather vane was relocated to the new engine house.
February 22, 1878 - The new engine house was completed and occupied at a final cost of about $10,000.
May 2, 1878 - Dedication of the new engine house is held with imposing ceremonies, including a parade, a banquet in the second floor hall, and an evening dance on the second floor.
May 17, 1883 - During a regular meeting of the company, an order of $8.00 was granted to F.H. Heckert for the installation of a bathroom in the engine house.
August 5, 1884 - A motion is passed authorizing the installation of electric lights in the engine house. Lights were installed by 1886.
January 19, 1886 - A committee of five was named to collect money for the purchase of a pair of horses for the engine.
January 25, 1886 - A contract is awarded to Sam Weiser by the Laurel to construct stalls for two horses at a cost of $9.00. Work was to begin at once.
March 11, 1886 - The Laurel receives permission to remove the two columns running down the center of the apparatus room, which support a beam in the ceiling carrying the weight of the second floor. The columns are replaced with steel truss rods. This provides more room for the use of horses to pull the apparatus.
March 17, 1886 - A pair of Kentucky thoroughbred bay horses were purchased from Benjamin Kindig for $500 and were immediately placed in their stalls. The horses were named Harry and Frank.
February of 1887 - Laurel builds temporary stables on the rear of the engine house, until permanent stables are built around them. The horse stables are removed from the engine room. The front facade is changed from two arched doorways to a single rectangular doorway with cast iron work surrounding the door.
July 26, 1887 - A one story frame truck house built in the 100 block of East Market Street to house the Rex's newly acquired Gleason and Bailey hook and ladder truck is occupied.
May 30, 1891 - The Fire Committee of Councils, along with Mayor Daniel K. Noell and Fire Chief Walter B. White, conduct an inspection of the fire department. They find that the Rex's truck house on East Market Street is too small, cannot be properly heated, and the stables are without sufficient light and ventilation, and too damp to keep horses in. Driver Orman advises the group that the horses have developed chronic coughs.
July 7, 1891 - City passes an ordinance authorizing funds for the construction of a new house for the Rex Hook & Ladder Company. A bill authorizing the construcion passed Common Council on August 10, 1891 and passes Select Council on September 1, 1891.
September 3, 1891 - Plans submitted by architect John A. Dempwolf were accepted by the Fire Committee, and a notice to contractors was approved. The front facade was designed to look as a continuation of the Laurel engine house.
September 11, 1891 - The Fire Committee reviewed four bids for construction of the Rex truck house. Contract was awarded to Jacob Seachrist and Son for $3,300. Work was expected to commence the following week.
September 24, 1892 - The hook and ladder truck is moved from East Market Street to the new truck house adjoining the Laurel engine house. First meeting of the Rex Hook & Ladder Company is held in their new home.
May 30, 1892 - Official dedication of the Rex truck house was held on Memorial Day, along with the dedication of their new Hayes aerial ladder truck and the Laurel's new LaFrance steamer. Festivities included a parade, and a banquet in the Laurel's engine house.
Fall of 1893 - Facade of the Rex truck house is altered to enlarge to apparatus doors. The small entrance door was moved to the north side of the building.
April 1895 - A 15' x 20' section of the hay loft above the Laurel horse stables was remodeled and converted into a sleeping room for the drivers.
July of 1895 - Spangler Brothers, contractors and builders of East York, complete renovations to the Rex truck house. Most of the woodwork on the first floor is replaced, including rotted and decaying flooring and joists. The stables are set back even with the Laurel's stables.
1906 - The Laurel engine house was outfitted to be heated with steam.
December 20, 1907 - The Rex Hook & Ladder Company is instructed by the Fire Committee not to respond to fire calls due to the condition of the flooring in the truck house. In case of an alarm, the horses were to be carefully walked out to the street, and the ladder truck pulled to the street by hand, and the horses hitched to the truck in the street.
January 2, 1908 - A temporary truck house, constructed of wood and canvas, is built on Duke Street to house the Rex ladder truck while a new asphalt floor is laid in the apparatus room of the truck house. The floor was completed and the ladder truck returned to the truck house on January 20th.
March 13, 1912 - An electric wire running to the tower of the Laurel engine house snagged on a guard of the Rex truck house, causing a fire on the roof of the Rex truck house. A four inch diameter hole is burned into the roof.
June 19, 1913 - A fire originated in the frame horse stables to the rear of the Laurel and Rex houses. The fire extended into the hose tower, and to a residence to the east of the stables on East King Street. The fire's cause is unknown.
January of 1914 - The Laurel's stables are being renovated, and a new wood block flooring is being installed. The horses are temporarily quartered at the Keystone stables at Queen and King Streets, resulting in a delay in the Laurel responding to calls.
April 2, 1919 - A chimney fire occurs at the Laurel engine house. The Laurel firemen extinguished the fire.
March 6, 1923 - At a meeting of the Laurel, a motion is passed granting permission to install a radio receiving set in the engine room. (AM radio)
August 26, 1924 - A passer-by discovers a fire in the tower of the Laurel engine house. He notified the driver, who investigated and found flames shooting from the windows of the tower. The fire caused several thousand dollars in damage, and was likely due to a short circuit.
July of 1940 - A new belfry is constructed on top of the Laurel's bell tower. The belfry is painted cream, and the wrought iron work was reattached to the top. The work is performed by a crew of Works' Progress Administration workers. Window sills were replaced and the exterior repainted over the summer.
October 1, 1947 - Shortly after noon, a fire is discovered on the roof of the Rex truck house. Workmen from the General Roofing Company had just broke for lunch, as they were in the process of replacing the roof on the Rex station. The fire was extinguished in several minutes and the damage was negligible.
March 11, 1957 - Interior doorway between the Rex and Laurel buildings in installed by city workers. Prior to this, personnel had to walk outside to go from one side to the other.
July 1, 1987 - At about 6:00 p.m. the flag pole atop the tower of the Laurel engine house was struck by lightning. The 35 foot fir pole was split in half, with a section the size of a two-by-four falling to the street.
Items of Interest Around the Station
Outside
The wood belfry atop the bell tower of the Laurel station has been rebuilt several times.
In 1987, lightning struck the flag pole atop the Laurel's bell tower, shattering the pole. The pole was replaced, and remnants of the original wood pole are on display at the York County Fire Museum.
Metal plating covers the threshold of the apparatus door. The plain panels are from when the door was enlarged in the 1980s. The blank wood panels above the door are from the same work.
"SPECTAMUR AGENDO" can be found above the apparatus door. This is the Latin motto of the Laurel, which translates to "Let us be judged by our actions."
On the King Street side of the building, a marble threshold can be seen under a window near the stables. This was an original double-door entrance to the building, opening to a lobby for the first floor and a stairway leading to the second floor.
On the rear of the stables, several metal items can be seen attached to the building. These were used for tending to the horses outside the building.
Laurel Engine Room
The steel tie rods stretching across the ceiling are not part of the original building design. They were added to support the upper floor when two Corinthian columns were removed from the apparatus room in 1886 after horses were purchased to pull the apparatus.
The first floor was originally two rooms, with the apparatus in the front room and a 19.5' by 32' parlor behind it.
The names of the horses can be seen above the doors to the horse stalls.
The wood shelf on the outside wall was where the television set was prior to 1976. The lounge was in the apparatus room until then.
Lounge
The wear on the woodwork along the doorway to the engine room is from a horse chewing and kicking while in its stall.
The round openings in the ceiling served two purposes: they provided some ventilation of odors from the stables, and allowed bales of hay to be dropped down from the hay loft above.
The ring on the wall by the back door was used to tie a horse to while washing the horse.
This room was remodeled in 1976, and the floor was raised to allow electrical conduits to be placed in the floor.
Laurel Second Floor
An ornate chandelier hangs in the meeting room. The chandelier was originally powered by natural gas, and was later electrified.
The three chairs on the raised floor in the meeting room are for the officers of the company, with the President in the tall center seat and the Secretary and Treasurer on either side. One of the floral pieces atop one of the shorter chairs was lost over the years, and a replacement piece was fashioned. It is not known which is the original.
The pompier ladder hanging on the large display case was found in the loft. It appears to have damage from the 1913 fire in the station.
The lockers in the middle room were originally used by the fire company to store their parade uniforms. They are lined with cedar to protect the uniforms from damage.
Where the bathroom currently sits was the original entrance to the second floor from the spiral staircase in the bell tower.
The second floor was originally one large room, 30' x 70', used for festivals, meetings, etc. There was a small anteroom in the tower, which provided access to a stage at the west end of the hall. A small room on the east end of the hall was provided as a cloak room or dressing room.
Rex Engine Room
On the front wall, behind the slide pole, an arched crack can be seen in the wall. This was the original man door into the engine room from the outside. This door was removed when the apparatus door was enlarged in 1893.
The current man door on the side wall was originally a window, which was altered at the same time as the front of the station. A complete upper window sash remains above the door as a large transom.
Several round metal plates can be seen on the ceiling. These were the mounting locations for the equipment that held the harnesses for the horses on the apparatus. They are offset to the north to align with the original, smaller apparatus door.
A basement was originally part of the building, but was filled in to allow for heavier apparatus in the 1990s. Access to the basement was under the second floor stairs.
The Rex/Laurel fire stations were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.