In 1889 a fire department was organized in Elizabethville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and named Reliance Hose Company No. 1. The company obtained its first piece of equipment in 1890. It was a hand-drawn, two-wheel cart with hose on a reel and a bell that clanged when the cart was moving. The cart was made by Swab Wagon Company.
The 1893 photograph shown here is of the cart in front of the old hose house.
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The photo was originally published on page 53 of History of Elizabethville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1817-1967. To obtain a copy of an exact reproduction of that book, visit the web site of the Elizabethville Area Bicentennial.