Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – April 4, 2024- Aaron Keller can be found several days each week at Jonesboro Fire Station No. 1 in a room with ledgers and a magnifying glass to his eye.
Keller, who retired in 2008 after serving as chief since 2004, is researching the history of the department, which was founded 125 years ago on March 27, 1899. The ledgers, which date back to the inaugural Invincible Fire Company, founded in 1899, are hand-written in cursive and can be difficult to read.
“I like local history,” Keller said Wednesday in the office he uses at the station for the project. “Since I’ve gotten involved with this, I’ve become more interested.” He said Assistant Chief Brett Bassham is overseeing the project and hopes to have a book published about the department’s history.
In the late 1800s, a series of fires in downtown Jonesboro sparked the need for a fire company. The Great Fire of 1889 burned down much of downtown Jonesboro, Keller said. In 1892, a loosely formed organization began to battle blazes.
The most important event, however, was a meeting held on March 27, 1899, at the Enterprise Cigar Store in downtown, with the formation of the Invincible Fire Company. Attending that meeting were L.D. Hickey, I.O Hughes, F.J. Schmuck, J.H. Lane, G.A. Chase, D.E. Bosche, George Miller, C.I. Williams, D. Williams, Warren Means, Earl Christian, Fred Draper, Perce Smith, Walter Nelson, Dee Nelson, Ivan Markha, John Patrick and Paul Leyda.
Hickey, a former captain in the Michigan National Guard, gave an informational talk, according to a 1972 history of the department. Hickey was elected chief engineer for the company. He served as chief of Invincible and then the Jonesboro Fire Department from 1899 to July1, 1926, when he retired.
Many of the early hand-written minutes to the fire company’s meetings were penned by Leyda. Hickey took over the task in Leyda’s absence.
According to Keller’s research, “As the first Chief, he had seen a full era of advancement in the fire service, from man-drawn hose carts, to horse-drawn wagons, to motorized apparatus. L.D. Hickey was born May 29, 1859, in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. After losing his boyhood home to fire, he knew at a young age, the importance of a strong fire service. … Chief Hickey’s badge hangs on a plaque in the lobby of Station 1 to this day.”
“He led the way,” Keller said of Hickey. “He had a vision.”
Keller believes that Hickey’s military service placed him in the forefront to his being elected as the first chief.
Members of Invincible had to pay dues of 10 cents a month, which was also the price paid if a volunteer missed the monthly meeting, Keller said.
Also in 1899, the company’s equipment was moved from a hay shed at Madison Street and Burke Avenue to a building at the intersection of East Washington Avenue and Church Street. In 1902, a bathtub and water boiler (hot water heater) were installed for a cost of $10.
To fund the fire company’s expenses, plays, dances, banquets, musicals and minstrel shows were held.
The city of Jonesboro formally took over the fire company in 1907 by purchasing its equipment for a grand total of $229.
Keller has been posting updates on the project on the department’s Facebook page at facebook.com/JonesboroFire