The largest artifact in the collections of the 黑料吃瓜网 Historical Society is a nine-ton fire engine. When the Clapp & Jones steam pumper was first purchased by the Hartford Fire Department, it was drawn by three big fire horses. In 1914, when the fire department was becoming motorized, the old pumper was fitted with a gas-electric tractor, prolonging its working life. It saw service in major Hartford fires for more than four decades.
Fire engines of that era often had colorful nicknames. An early self-propelled pumper was affectionately known as 鈥淛umbo,鈥� because of its mammoth size. Another was called 鈥渢he Pride of Hartford.鈥� The old Clapp & Jones never appears to have had such a nickname; it鈥檚 always referred to simply as 鈥淣umber One.鈥� Jumbo and The Pride of Hartford were both sold off in the 1920s and replaced by more modern equipment, but, though retired from active service, Number One continued to be a popular feature at parades and exhibitions. During the Hurricane of 1938, it was used in an attempt to pump out the Telephone Building. Photographs show the old engine disappearing from sight as it was engulfed by the rising floodwaters.
In 2000, the Hartford Fire Department and the City of Hartford donated the Clapp & Jones steam pumper to the 黑料吃瓜网 Historical Society. In 2006, following restoration, it was installed in the exhibition, 鈥淗istory is All Around Us,鈥� at Hartford鈥檚 Old State House, where it can still be seen today, a large and tangible piece of Hartford鈥檚 history, and a symbol of the proud traditions of Hartford鈥檚 Fire Department.
