In 1888 a Clapp & Jones steamer was purchased second hand for $1400.00 (originally serving for the City of Boston). It was in service for 40 years answering 48 fires and several false alarms before it was put into storage to make way for a new motorized piece of equipment.

Over the years our steamer was stored in various buildings throughout town. The Borough Council decided to give the steamer to the Fire Company in 1954 with the stipulation it was not to be sold without the consent of council.

In May of 1971 the steamer was taken to Trenton to be restored. Ralph Brown Antique Auto Restoration was to do the work. No estimate was given as Mr. Brown could not tell what he would run into as this was the oldest steamer he had ever seen and because of the age of the steamer it would be hard to replace or even find new parts.

After almost a year our steamer was returned to Frenchtown completely restored. The cost was close to $20,000. The company never imagined such an expense, however, it was financed totally by the company through its fund raising efforts with no tax money from the borough.

The following companies were involved in restoring our steamer:

Nickel Plating - Bills’ Metal Polishing, Magnolia, NJ
New Seat - Kisthardts, Trenton, NJ
Leather Work - Kline & Sauage, Philadelphia, PA
New Suction Hose - Goodall Rubber, Newark, NJ
New Tubes (182) - Murray Tubes, Union, NJ
Machine Work - Dave Baldwin, Trenton, NJ
Gold Striping - ].D. Lesh Signs, Trenton, NJ
New Spoked Wheels - Amish Family, Blue Ball, PA

Since the return of our steamer, we have participated in numerous parades throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We also have put on demonstrations on pumping in Philadelphia, Allentown, and Princeton. Our meeting room at the fire house is full of first place trophies and citations. Our dream is to have a building suitable to display this piece of restored history that has held such an important place in the life of Frenchtown so that everyone can experience the joy that comes from viewing and reliving history.