Fire Bucket
Fire bucket or pail from around 1832. These came in many designs, including leather or hide. Ours is red-painted metal. Into the early 19th century, it was common in more rural areas for homes to have one or more of these buckets. These pails gave residents the power to function as an ad-hoc fire brigade, before more formal volunteer or paid fire departments were established.
Our bucket is from 24 Boston Rd, also known as the Luther Wilkins house. This house was built by around 1823, if not earlier. The first owners of the property were Theodore (1778-1821) and Sally Carver Peabody (1783-1837). The 1855 Symmes map shows Joseph Bailey (1845-1873) as the owner. Luther Wilkins (1815-1887) owned the house by the 1860s. In 1897, Civil War vet Wayland Balch (1839-1937) bought the property. The house was restored in the 1960s, and subsequently owned by Ralph (1919-2007) and Jane Hinkley (1929-2016). It remained in the family into the late 2000s. By 2018, the house was renovated and converted into a multi-family home.
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