On February 12, 1876, approximately 85 residents of Clermont County petitioned to have about 800 acres incorporated into a village.
Originally settled by Thomas Paxton in 1795, the newly incorporated village was named after the town’s original postmaster, James Loveland. Soon after incorporation, village residents recognized the need for fire protection. On August 12, 1877, two sets of ladders and 36 rubber buckets were purchased and a group of village residents were appointed to oversee and use the equipment. One ladder and 18 buckets were placed on Jackson Street (present-day Loveland Avenue) and the other ladder and 18 buckets on Broadway Street.
Ladder & Bucket Bridage
Although no record clearly shows a specific name, the group of residents that provided Loveland’s first fire protection was commonly referred to as the “Ladder and Bucket Brigade.” The “Ladder and Bucket Brigade” obtained water for firefighting from eight fire cisterns located throughout the village. These cisterns were all operated with wooden hand pumps.
Hand-Powered Pumping Unit
As Loveland grew, so did the need for better fire equipment. Requests by citizens and businesses prompted Loveland to purchase a hand-drawn, hand-powered pumping unit. Purchased from “Rumsley and Company” in Seneca, New York, this unit was also equipped with 200 feet of fire hose. However, soon after its arrival in Loveland, the “Ladder and Bucket Brigade” came to the realization that this unit was impractical and it was soon returned to the manufacturer.
Shortly thereafter, a committee was established and sent to Cincinnati to look at steam powered equipment. A rebuilt, horse drawn steam pumper, equipped with a hose reel, was purchased from the “Ahrens Fox Company,” a Cincinnati based fire engine manufacturer. The Loveland-Symmes Fire Department still owns the steamer today. It resides in the bay at Station 63 located at the corner of East Loveland Avenue and Second Street. It can easily be seen through the bay windows while sitting at the traffic light on North Second Street.