Text on a small plaque accompanying the cart (see below) implies that its purchase may have been a case of
Closing the barn door after the horse has gone, as it may have been bought by the West Side School District following a fire at the school. The cart was manufactured by the
Prospect Manufacturing Company of Prospect, Ohio.
One of the more successful apparatus manufacturers of the teens and twenties, chemical carts were a mainstay in the Prospect sales line, though Prospect also produced a wide range of pumpers mounted on various chassis, beginning with the Ford Model T and later Reo, Stewart, GMC, Chevrolet, Packard, Cadillac, Dodge Brothers, Graham, International, and Diamond T chassis. Prospect also produced an early airport rescue firefighting vehicle, ostensibly the best unit available at the time. A victim of "The Depression", the company filed for bankruptcy in 1932, its assets being bought by Keenan Hanley who began building apparatus under the name of Hanley Engineering Service. While it is not known how many pieces of apparatus were built by Prospect, many of their engines are still extant, proudly owned by various fire departments.
Built in 1907 of concrete block simulating rusticated stone, the four room Northside School replaced several smaller wood framed schools scattered about Livingston's north side. Serving as an elementary school until 1971, the building was purchased by the Park County Museum Association in 1976, the Park County Museum opening in the building the next year. Today it is known as the
Yellowstone Gateway Museum.
Today made easy to find with a dingy red wooden Northern Pacific caboose on the front lawn, the building is filled with artefacts relating to the early days of Livingston. Behind the building is a fenced yard and another building in which are displayed fire trucks, agricultural equipment, wagons, various machines and other large historic items, including a blacksmith shop, donated and moved to the museum in July, 1997.
Prospect Hand-drawn Fire Cart
More efficient than a bucket brigade, the fire cart could quickly be used to put out small fires. The 30-gallon tank held a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Sulphuric acid was released into the top of the tank, causing a dangerous chemical reaction, and water was expelled under pressure by carbon dioxide gas.
Owned by Livingston's West Side School District #4, it may have been purchased after a fire destroyed the school's roof in 1907.