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David Crockett Firehouse

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1859. 205 Lafayette St.
  • (Photograph by Karen Kingsley)

In 1841, a group of local citizens formed a volunteer fire-fighting company, incorporating as the Gretna Fire Company No. 1 in 1844. The company’s name was changed in 1874 to honor David “Davy” Crockett, who was killed at the Alamo. The two-story wooden structure has a wide-arched opening on the ground floor. The front gable is finished to resemble a pediment; at its peak is a large openwork hexagonal bell tower surmounted by a small cupola. The firehouse shelters a fire engine manufactured in 1876 by the R. Gould Company of Newark, New Jersey. Weighing 3,000 pounds, it was first propelled by teams of firemen; later, when it was horse-drawn, a driver’s seat was installed at the front. The fire engine’s water pump was powered by a steam engine resting upon four wooden wagon wheels and could propel a constant stream of water to the height of a five-story building.

Next door at 201 Lafayette, the Gretna Historical Society Museum occupies the former Kitty Strehle House of c. 1845. This single-story, four-room wooden house with a front gallery supported on wooden posts is typical of the area’s early residential stock.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas
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Data

Timeline

  • 1859

    Built

What's Nearby

Gretna City Hall (Jefferson Parish Courthouse)
Louisiana Railroad Museum (Texas Pacific Railroad Depot)
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
Synagogue Apartments (Gates of Prayer Synagogue)
Camp Bow Wow (National Maritime Union Building)

Citation

Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas, "David Crockett Firehouse", [Gretna, Louisiana], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/LA-02-JE3.

Print Source

buildings of new orleans book

Buildings of New Orleans, Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, 259-260.

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