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Content originally created in 2005
Page last updated April 1, 2022
Change Log: April 1, 2022 - Reformatted page, replaced small photos with larger versions, added Sanborn Map excerpts, updated content in a few spots.
220-226 Craven Street
Opened by 1885 / Closed 1928
Presently retail space
Built between 1816 and 1818 as a row of four brick stores,
this Federal-period building is the earliest surviving
commercial structure in New Bern.
By 1885, one of the stores was converted to an engine house
for the Atlantic Steam Fire Engine Company. By 1888, the entire
building was purchased by the city for use as a City Hall.
Around 1905, a brick-veneered facade was added to the
building.
The three-story structure served as an engine house and
later fire
department headquarters until 1928, when all operations were consolidated into a single building at 420
Broad Street.
In 1935, the remaining city offices were moved to their present
location at 300 Pollock Street.
The 8,050 square-foot building
is presently used as retail space.
405 Broad Street
Opened 1913 / Closed 1928
Presently part of restaurant
Built between 1888 and 1893, this three-story brick building served a
variety of purposes during its early years.
Occupants included the Hotel Neuse by 1898, the
meeting rooms of the Elks' Lodge by 1904, and one of the
city's two fire companies beginning in 1913.
The Atlantic Fire Company occupied the building from 1913
until 1928. Fire poles were installed between the three
floors. The fire company relocated to a new station on the
opposite side of Broad Street in 1928.
The 6,000 square-foot former fire station presently serves as banquet space for an
adjoining restaurant.
Originally addressed 57 Broad
Street, when occupied as a fire station, it was later numbered 55-57 and
403-405.
420 Broad Street
Opened 1928 / Closed 2000
Presently fire museum
After decades of operating from separate facilities, the
Atlantic and Button companies moved into a single fire
station in 1928.
The two-story brick building was equipped with a tower for
drying hose, four apparatus bays, and a second-floor
porch.
Though the rivalries between the Atlantic and Button
companies were put to rest, one concession was made to
their competitive history: the station contained two
separate brass fire poles, one for each company.
After City Hall was moved to Pollock Street in
1935, one of the three copper bears adorning the Craven Street
structure was moved to the front of the fire
station.
In June 2000, the fire companies and fire department offices
relocated to a new Station 1 at 1401 Neuse Boulevard.
The
7,500 square-foot former fire station is presently empty and planned for expansion of
the neighboring New Bern Firemen's Museum.
In 2016, the
New Bern Fire Museum moved into old Station 1 after 60 years in a small,
one-story building on Hancock Street, behind the fire station. They also spent
nearly $1 million to repair and renovate the building. The formal dedication was
held on December 1, 2017.
500 Fort Totten Drive
Opened 1951 / Closed 2000
Presently youth center
In the early 1950s, the New Bern Fire Department expanded
from one to three stations. Both initially housed a GMC
pumper and were staffed with a single paid person.
The GMC pumper at Station 2 served both the city and county.
It was soon replaced by a city-only engine and the fire
department ceased county protection at that time.
In 2000, the facility was closed as a new Station 1 opened around
the corner on Neuse Boulevard.
A new Station 2
subsequently opened at 800 West Thurman Road.
The 1,151 square-foot former fire station presently as a youth
center for a local non-profit organization.
1700 National Avenue
Opened 1955 / Closed 2003
Presently privately owned
The residential-style Station 3 opened in 1955, also with a
GMC pumper and a single paid person.
Located in the Riverfront community, the station was closed
in 2003 due to overlapping coverage from the new Station 1.
Circa 2005 or later, the 774 square-foot former fire station was used by the Parks and Recreation Department. It was subsequently sold to a private owner circa 2021. Station 4 at 3101 Elizabeth Avenue was later renumbered as Station 3.
Different sections of the City Hall building on Craven
Street served the fire department between 1885 and 1928. The
first engine house was located in the second (2) of the building's four sections. From before
1898 until after 1898, the fire department occupied the second (2) and third (3) sections. By 1904, two
fire companies shared the second (2), third (3), and a portion of the
fourth (4) section.
Their equipment included two steam engines, two hose wagons, four
horses on duty, and two horses in reserve. The hook and ladder
truck and a hand hose reel were stored in separate buildings
behind City Hall. See Sanborn Map excerpt above.
By 1908, the engine house had moved to the fourth (4)
section of the City Hall building. Six paid drivers on constant
duty staffed the station, along with two paid engineers. By 1913,
the hook and ladder truck was housed in the second
(2) section, and a hose
wagon, a steam engine, and three horses were housed in the fourth
(4) section. By 1924, both
Station 2 and fire department headquarters occupied only
the fourth (4)
section. Additional structures over the years behind the building
included a fire bell tower and assorted hose platforms.
Riverside Fire Company at unknown location.
Numerous buildings served as engine houses over the decades in New Bern, including such structures as:
41 Middle Street - Two-story engine house and later combination fire station and synagogue, from before 1888 until after 1893.
141 Broad Street - Fourth Ward Fire Company station circa 1913.
George and Cypress streets - Riverside Fire Company station at the intersection, circa 1913.
Hancock and Broad streets - New Bern Steam Engine Company in a two-story building on the northeast corner.
See Daniel Bartholf's book History of Firefighting in New Bern, North Carolina – Colonial Days to the 21st Century, published in 2019, for more early engine houses.
In addition to the Riverside and Fourth Ward companies, other late 19th and early 20th century fire companies included the Excelsior Bucket and Axe Company, the Holden Fire Company, the Independent Colored Fire Company, the Mechanics Hook and Ladder Company, the Reliance Bucket and Axe Company, and the Rough and Ready Fire Company.
Charlotte
Note
A version of this article was published on FireNews.net on January 6, 2005.
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros