In the early 1900s, a hand tub named The Fountain was among the equipment used to fight fires in Winchendon. The hand tub was built by the Button Company in Buffalo, New York, in 1856 and was first used in Ontario, Canada, then refurbished in Blandford, Ontario in 1894 by the Waterloo Engine Works. In 1907, the hand pump found a home in South Hadley Falls and from there went on to become part of the Winchendon firefighting force in the early 1900s, according to retired Winchendon Fire Capt. Martin Brooks, a third-generation firefighter.
The hand tub, according to Brooks, at the time it was in use, was stored in a stall at the then-fire station.
“One stall held the hand tub, the next stall held a team of horses. When a call was received, the harnesses would be dropped down, people would buckle up the harnesses, hook the horses up to the hand tub and go, with two or three people riding the hand tub to the fire. The rest of the volunteer fire fighters needed to run the hand tub would meet them at the scene of the fire,” according to Brooks.
At the scene of the fire, according to Winchendon Fire Chief Thomas Smith, the hand tub would be brought to a nearby water source and the water would be pumped through the hose onto the fire. The pump, which was 14 to 16 feet long, would require 12 people on each side, Brooks said. “The firefighters needed to be in sync, like men using a two-man saw when cutting a tree,” adding that to operate it, firefighters on one side would pull down levers while those on the other side would pull it up,” Brooks said.
Much has changed since those days. Over the years, fire trucks have replaced hand tubs, relegating the latter to the realms of firefighting history. In addition, Smith said, firefighters then did not have the protective equipment that they have now. In the early 1900s, at the time the hand tub was in use, the Fire Department was an all-volunteer department. Today, the fire department is a combination of full-time and call firefighters, Smith added.
However, this is not the end of the story for The Fountain. In 2020, the antique piece of equipment, which is believed to still be operational, made a final trip back to the town it had once so faithfully served, thanks to its donation by retired Fire Lt. Charlie Harris from Keene, New Hampshire. The Fountain had originally been purchased by Harris’ father, Lawrence, a former Winchendon firefighter, who collected Fire Department equipment, Harris said.
Brooks, Smith, Deputy Ruschioni and Lt. Bill Davis assisted in escorting the pump back to Winchendon.
The fire chief added, “It was nice to bring it back to Winchendon.”
It is hoped the hand tub will eventually be displayed at a newly expanded future fire station in town, he said.
This is not the only piece of Winchendon fire history owned by the department. Also in its historical collection is a restored 1939 fire truck as well.