KUTZTOWN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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The 1840 Joel Bates “America” Fire Engine
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The 1840 Joel Bates “America” Fire Engine

In 2019, after several years of detective work and assisted by Josiah Wagner and Bill Ward, Allentown firefighter Jeremy Bellois contacted the Kutztown Area Historical Society.  He had located, in the collection of Sutton “Sut” Marshall of Conway, New Hampshire, the “lost” 1840 Joel Bates “America” hand pumper that had been purchased by Kutztown’s Borough Council in the mid-19th century.  The pumper was previously housed in the borough or surrounding vicinity for more than 125 years.  Since then, the society, in conjunction with Kutztown Fire Company No. 1, has researched the pumper’s history and organized a fund-raising campaign to return the pumper to eastern Pennsylvania. Through many generous donations of the community members, the pumper has been successfully purchased by the Kutztown Historical Society and moved back to Kutztown in May 2022.
​Thank you to all who donated!

For a full history of the 1840 Joel Bates "America" Fire Engine

Full History "America"
File Size: 161 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Unless otherwise credited, all contents of this site, including text, photographs, and web design, are the exclusive property of the Kutztown Area Historical Society. While certain documents and records are under public domain and beyond applicable copyright law, our formats, graphics, and all other text are fully protected. If citing material from our site for academic research purposes, please credit us accordingly. Contact the Kutztown Area Historical Society for permission to copy, reproduce, or otherwise disseminate information from our site.
Kutztown Area Historical Society
​P.O. Box 307

Normal Avenue and Whiteoak Street
Kutztown, PA 19530
610.683.7697
kahs1892@yahoo.com
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Mission
    • Genealogy
    • Membership
    • Local Links
  • History of Kutztown
    • History of Kutztown
    • Kutztown Then & Now
    • The First House in Kutztown
    • 1840 Joel Bates "America" Fire Engine Fundraiser
    • 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
    • The Dorney Park Line
    • The Old Kutztown Pool
  • Events
    • Holiday Festival
    • Past Events
    • Bicentennial Park Ribbon Cutting
  • Visit Us
  • Merchandise
    • Vergess Net - The Society's Bicentennial Commemorative Book
    • A Most Agreeable Town: A Photographic History of the Borough of Kutztown, Volume I: West Main Street
    • A Most Agreeable Town: A Photographic History of the Borough of Kutztown, Volume 3: The Neighborhoods
    • A Most Agreeable Town, Volume 2: Railroad & Industrial Corridor, East Main St.
    • 1965 Kutztown Sesqui-Centennial (150th Anniversary) History Book
  • Contact Us