Pickerington first fire dept - 1
Pickerington's first fire department headquarters
The tiny building at 22 N. Center St. in Pickerington may have a dark secret buried underneath. It was built to house the mayor’s and village council offices as well as the area’s first fire truck in 1938. According to local legend, a card player pushed his luck one night and was killed by men who were working on the nearby railroad, and they buried his body on site. Despite its foreboding origin story, the building was the home of our first fire department and has housed numerous businesses since.
The Pickerington Volunteer Fire Department moved into the structure once it was completed. The etched stone above the door still bears its construction year, though no signs of its use as a fire station remain.
Courtesy of Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society
First Fire Truck - Pickerington - 1
Pickerington's first fire truck
Pickerington’s first fire truck was a used 1917 Brockway LaFrance combination pumper, hose cart and ladder wagon. The vehicle – pictured with a sign that reads “Howe Fire Apparatus” – was purchased in 1934 after the Seagraves Company was through using it on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The truck bears the words “Oak Tree” and “Volunteer Fire Co.” on its side.
The Volunteer Firemen of Violet Township organized on July 11, 1954, and the group operated out of the township’s building until Fire Station #591 was built at 21 Lockville Rd. in 1955. In 1986, The Violet Township Fire Department hired its first full-time employee and chief, Kenn Taylor, when he was just 22. Taylor retired in January and you can read his story in the previous issue of Pickerington Magazine.
The original station was razed and the firefighters temporarily moved back in with the township while a new station was built from 2016-2018.
Photo by Joyce Cleary
Current Day Fire Dept. 2023 - 1
Violet Township Fire Department 2023
The department has experienced major growth alongside the community, and three fire stations now serve Pickerington and Violet Township. The garage at Station #591 is a spectacle, filled with technology Taylor and his lifelong friend and coworker, Jim Paxton, could never have imagined when they first put on their badges.
This story was inspired by the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society’s self-guided walking tour pamphlet. If you are interested in local history, be sure to stop by the Carnegie Library and pick one up anytime for free!
Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com
