The North Carolina fire service is quite old, and goes all the way back the late 1700s. Artifacts from earlier eras are harder to come by, and anything pre-1900 is a bonafide find. Thus it’s a hysterical historical pleasure to share some early conference proceedings from the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association, from August 1896.

The 120-page document (see web directory, click 1896, beware large file size)  is brimming with goodies, including stats on the member fire departments, tournament scores, vintage advertisements, and even a picture of Greensboro’s Eagle Hose Company’s “daughter”.