FIRST Oklahoma Fire Station - Oklahoma Firefighters Museum - Oklahoma City, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 31.300 W 097° 27.840
14S E 639272 N 3931981
Fort Supply Depot, Indian Territory - the U.S. Army builds the first fire station in Oklahoma.
Waymark Code: WMBD5A
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 05/08/2011
Views: 2
Located inside the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum, is the original log cabin fire station, built in 1869. Oklahoma would not be a state for 38 more years. The Civil War had just ended three years before. The U.S. Army set up a base of operations at Fort Supply in the northwestern portion of Indian Territory, from which they would govern the newly established Territory. The area had not yet been opened to non-Indian settlement.
The military personnel decided they needed a fire station to house their hand drawn hose cart. If you've ever been to the northwestern part of Oklahoma, you know there are few trees, so building this log cabin could not have been easy, but build it they did.
In the early 1970s they offered to donate it to the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association. A team of 16 volunteers drove to Fort Supply in a "low-boy" truck, and brought the station back to Oklahoma City. It wasn't until they arrived that they realized the log station would not fit through the museum's overhead doors. They ended up having to disassemble parts of the building, and then reassemble it on the inside.
It is interesting to see this display which includes pieces of apparatus from these early firefighting days.
The museum is located at 2716 N.E. 50th Street in Oklahoma City and is open Mon.-Sat from 9AM - 4:30 and Sun. from 1PM-4:30. There are numerous exhibits in the museum, documenting the history of firefighting in Oklahoma, plus many beautifully restored vintage fire trucks. The museum is closed on all major holidays and special events. Check out their website or call 405-424-3440 (1-800-308-5336) to verify closings.
Admission: Adults $5.00; Seniors (55+) $4.00; Children 6-12 $2.00;
Children under 6 Free. Oklahoma firefighters and their family Free;
Groups of 10 or more - half price.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1869
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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