05/08/2026
THE DEPFORD ā Belleville's First Fire Engine
Around this time 185 years ago, Belleville was proud to receive its first fire engine, purchased in Baltimore by Gustavus Koerner. It cost $150 and was shipped by water to New Orleans and up river to St. Louis. It was given the name Depford, possibly named after an area outside of London known for manufacturing cutting edge fire equipment at the time.
Until the 1870's when steam powered engines were first purchased in Belleville, Belleville fire companies relied on hand-pumped fire engines (image is of a similar model). These engines had no motor and were essentially water buckets on wheels that needed to be hand pumped to move water. The earliest engines were unable to suck out water from city cisterns (which weren't installed until after the Civil War). They were hand-drawn and there was a monetary reward for the first and second water cart to arrive.
It took anywhere from 8 to 20 firemen standing on both sides, physically throwing their body weight up and down on long wooden "brakes", to build up enough pressure to shoot a stream of water from a "gooseneck," a brass nozzle that shot water on the fire. The arrival of the Depford marked a significant shift from the bucket brigade to the engine company, and it wasn't long until Belleville's population increased deserved bigger and better fire equipment.
St. Clair County Historical Society Belleville Historical Society
Sources
A History of Belleville, Alvin L. Nebelsick. (p.108-111)
History of St. Clair County, Illinois, 2 vols. Brink, McDonough and Company, 1881. (p.189)
