In 1879, the City of Marietta purchased a revolutionary new steam-powered fire wagon. Firefighting historians generally acknowledge that the Silsby Steamer was the innovation that created modern fire departments. Prior to its development, each fire company depended on bucket brigades and hand pumps to fight blazes.
And in Marietta, the newly arrived fire wagon also led to another first in 1881 — the creation of the Blue Eagle No. 2 Volunteer Fire Company, comprised entirely of citizens from Marietta’s black community.
As Marietta’s volunteer fire department became more experienced and proficient with the Aurora — the name given to the new wagon — it also made the city’s Blue Streak hand pumper engine obsolete. So the older apparatus was eventually provided to the newly-formed Blue Eagle No. 2 Volunteer Fire Company.
Community Service, and Social Clubs
Unlike modern city-operated fire departments, volunteer units of the day were a combination of social club and emergency response units. According to local records and newspaper accounts, the Blue Eagle Fire Company elected officers, held regular meetings, participated in community events and joined firefighting competitions and fought fires — sometimes alongside their white counterparts.
A mention in the Marietta Journal from Dec. 21, 1882, reported on the annual meeting of the Blue Eagle No. 2 Company, and the election of its officers. W.P. Butler, a Baptist minister, was elected president, a position he would hold for many years.
While the Blue Eagle Fire Company No. 2 was a volunteer organization, the City of Marietta often interacted with the crew. Membership benefits included exemption from the $3 city street tax, which was granted in March 1883 for up to 30 members of the Blue Eagle crew. And in May 1883, a report to city council noted the cleaning of the Blue Eagles’ No. 2 hand pump engine by the members.
Unified Response
The Blue Eagle Fire Company often responded to local fires side-by-side with their white counterparts, answering the call of the fire bell for blazes throughout the city. The Sept. 13, 1883, edition of the Marietta Journal reported one of those responses as follows:
“An alarm of fire, Monday morning about, half past nine o’clock, brought out the fire department. The kitchen on the premises of Mr. Chuck Anderson was on fire, and the fire being between the ceiling and roof, rendered it difficult to reach. The Hook and Ladder put in prompt work, while the Blue Eagle Hand Engine (colored) with a good stream kept the fire in check.”
During a streak of bitter cold in January 1886, the Blue Eagles and the rest of the Marietta firefighters answered a call in subzero temperatures and high winds to fight a blaze at a railroad warehouse. Cotton bales had caught fire from the sparks of a passing train. In temperatures of four below zero with a “glacial gale blowing at a terrible rate,” the fire companies threw water on the burning cotton and “the water would freeze soon after hitting the bales,” the Marietta Journal newspaper reported. Their dedicated efforts in the sub-zero conditions saved most of the cotton and prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding warehouses.
The thankful owners of the Winters and Legg Warehouse thanked the firefighters for the quick response and dedication with an oyster dinner. As with many events of the time, the white members of Marrietta Fire Company No. 1 and the Marietta Hook and Ladder Co. enjoyed their dinner on a Tuesday night at the Whitlock House. Meanwhile, on the same evening, Winters and Legg treated the Blue Eagle Company to a similar oyster dinner at the Simm’s Restaurant, the Marietta Journal reported.
Parades and Contests
Marietta hosted a fire tournament on July 4, 1902, which featured all the city’s firefighting units. A 4 pm parade featured the fire fighters and their fire wagons, starting at the fire house on Atlanta Street and led by a military band. The Blue Eagle Firemen, with engine and reel, participated in costumes of black pants and blue shirts.
The Marietta Journal estimated “that some three thousand people were on the square at the time the parade and tournament took place. There was a regular jam of human beings.”
The day’s activities also included a reel race and foot races by the firefighters, with prizes of rubber fire coats and cash to the winners. The Blue Eagles received two rubber fire coats in the reel race. In the foot races, Blue Eagle member Gus Nelson won the $2 first prize and Ed Robinson received the $1 second prize.
Of the day, the Marietta Journal concluded: “Marietta has had no more enjoyable day than the fourth of July. Good order prevailed throughout the day, no drunkenness and everybody seemed to be in a good humor. We have a splendid citizenry, hospitable, courteous, clever and enterprising, and the best town in the state.”
The final reference we could find to the Blue Eagle Fire Company appeared in May 1911. While the white Marietta firefighters participated in a city recognition event, the Blue Eagles were provided a separate barbeque lunch for their members.
Final Chapter for the Blue Eagles?
The final chapter of Blue Eagle history is unclear.
The Marietta department responded to a fire call at Zion Baptist Church in July 1914, after which the pastor publicly thanked the department in the Marietta Journal. But no mention is made of the Blue Eagles, who likely would have responded to the emergency at the church which was the heart of Marietta’s black community.
In October, 1914, the Marietta Journal published a notice or a meeting for reorganization of the volunteer fire departments, but published no follow-up report.
And, Sometime in the 1900s, Marietta switched some of its firefighting duties to a paid force. The volunteer departments continued alongside for awhile. A request in the Marietta Daily Journal requested that volunteer departments continue answering the fire bell along with the city’s new department. But how long that arrangement lasted is unclear.
We’re continuing to search the available digital records of the Marietta Journal and other sources for more information. You can also find a reference to Marietta’s Blue Eagles at the Marietta Fire Museum, located in the main fire station near downtown. Check out our article on a previous visit.
