History and images have been compiled from various sources including, among others, the 1987 National Register of Historic Places, Stack & Beasley's 1902 Sketches of Monroe and Union County, Union County Public Library (Patricia Poland, Genealogy & Local History Librarian), the Heritage Room Photo Collection, North Carolina Map Collection, Rootsweb - An Ancestry.com Community and Ancestry.com family histories.

Monroe Fire Company


1900s - Jim Davis, John E. McCarter, Frank Flow, John Correll, Bob Wallace, George McCorkle, G. Ed Flow, Joe Williams, Walter McCorkle, Jack LeClaire, Luther Wallace, Unidentified, Unidentified, J. Walter Laney, Jim McLeod, Jess Hill, Sam Walsh, Dr. S.J. Welsh (chief), William Carroll - Heritage Room Collection (HRC) 
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1886 Silsby Steamer
"Monroe operated a fifth-size* 1886 Silsby (#856) steamer. Purchased with a municipal bond approved in July of that year, the $3,500 engine was first stored in a local livery stable. Companies that operated the steamer included the Acme Fire Company. The steamer was a reserve unit by 1902 and still in reserve by 1922. It was stored at Old Station 1 and later moved to a glass case at Jaycee Park. The steamer was returned to the fire department in recent years and is housed at Station #1 awaiting restoration." Information from Michael J. Legeros   
Contemporary photograph courtesy Randy Cox.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map references:
1908 - One permanent horse. One hose wagon. One hand hook & ladder truck. One Silsby steamer in reserve.
1914 - Two horses used for fire only. One two-horse hose wagon. One hand hook & ladder truck. One Silsby steamer and four hose reels, each in reserve. (Sanborn Map Survey)
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 NC State Archives: Monroe, Union County Fire Department June 1922
One fully paid man, three partly paid men, 29 volunteers (17 white, 12 colored). One man on constant duty at fire station. Fire station at corner of North Hayne Street and West Crowell Avenue. One American LaFrance combination motor truck with 750 gallon-per-minute pump, 40-gallon chemical tank, and 1,500 feet 2 1/2-inch hose. One Ford truck with 1,500 feet 2 1/2-inch hose. One hand hook and ladder truck with 40-foot extension ladder. One Silsby steam fire engine that can be towed in reserve, pumping capacity 500 gallons-per-minute. Two hand hose reels in reserve, 500 feet 2 1/2-inch hose each. Fire alarm by switch at Telephone Exchange that rings bells in fire station, pumping station, and firemen's homes. General alarm by whistle at pumping station and by bell at fire station. Population 5,550. 



1920s - Crop Fire Engine BMP - "Scoot" Moore, Paul Stegall, Jesse A. Helms, David Hinson, Oscar Trull, Bunyan Coan, "Gigg" Johnson, G.B. Caldwell, Chief, Ellis Hancoth, Frank Houston, L.G. Helms, Grady Doster, Gordon Stegall, Willie Walsh, John "Pegger" Stewart -Information by Mrs. George S. Lee Jr. (HRC)
1921 City of Monroe Fire Truck No. 1 was used by the Monroe Fire 
 Department for over 40 years. Jesse Helms Sr. - Fire Chief (HRC)
September 1938 - Fire Station (HRC)
 In the photo: Ben Keziah, Carl Wells, Mrs. Hall Wilson, Sam Goodwin, Ray Shute,
 Oscar Trull, George Davis, J. Boyd, W.T. Wall, Vann Henson, Emsley Armfield
1938 - In the photo: Emsley Armfield, Sam Goodwin, 
 Vann Henson, J. Boyd, Oscar Trull (HRC)
1981 Monroe Fire House (HRC)
 Freddy Smith, Captain Kilgore, Lt. Garwood, Lt. R. Helms, Roger Griffin
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