One of Mississippi’s oldest and most intact fire stations is this two-story brick building, which retains its rear lantern-lit stable and much of its original interior. It housed the city’s first volunteer fire company, Constitution Fire Company No. 1 (organized in 1837), and their horse-drawn steam fire engine. The cupola, with its bell to call the volunteers for duty, is similar in scale and detailing to that on the old courthouse (YB1), perhaps indicating the same carpenter. The firehouse continued to operate after 1889 when the city transitioned to a professional, city-operated fire department, but it was unable to accommodate the larger motorized fire engines in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1970s, the building was rescued and opened as a gallery by the Vicksburg Art Association.
Vicksburg boasts several historic fire stations, including the oldest operating in the state, Engine House No. 7 (1910, W. A. Stanton; 3217 S. Washington Street), a red brick, two-story gabled building. Stanton also designed the classical Central Fire Station (1924, 1630 Walnut Street), the first in the city to be built for motor-driven trucks.