The Hughsonville Fire Department is located in the Town of Wappinger in Dutchess County, New York, about 60 miles north of New York City in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Responsible for a nine square mile district located between the Town of Fishkill to the south and the Village of Wappingers Falls to the north the Hughsonville Fire District includes two arterial highways, a dense commercial atmosphere and a mix of residential housing types. It also includes the 99 acre Carnwath Farms shoreline property—the former Greystone Estate—and an important marine exposure along 1½ miles of Hudson River shoreline and the mouth of the Wappinger Creek.

Almost one hundred years ago, a group of interested citizens from the hamlet of Hughsonville became enraged when the life of a small girl was snuffed out by a raging fire in the Van De Water house on Route 9D. This was the latest in a series of costly blazes in this community and they decided that the time for action had arrived.

On October 11, 1912, the first meeting of "The Citizens of Hughsonville" was called to order in a room in the YMCA to discuss the purchase of a chemical engine. This organization was the forerunner of the Hughsonville Fire Company. Ezra Weyant was appointed as temporary president of the group, with Fred Cornell, who was later to become the first chief of the company, elected secretary pro-tem.

Mr. Cornell reported that a double 35-gallon tank chemical engine could be purchased from the Seagrave Company in Columbus, Ohio for $350.00. Through the combined efforts of Jake Hasbrouck, Frank Kelly and Mr. Cornell, $300 had already had been subscribed.

Another meeting was held two weeks later with the engine fund having grown to $435. William Reese, a member of the committee charged to investigate the purchase of a chemical engine, reported that the Seagrave Co. had informed him that no such engine existed. The committee was instructed to look elsewhere for an engine.

On December 6, 1912, and after many meetings, the committee authorized Mr. Cornell to order a “No. 5 Deluxe Chemical Engine” from the Prospect Manufacturing Co., of Prospect, Ohio, at a delivered cost of $350.

The engine was a two-cylinder type with a 30-gallon tank mounted over two wheels. It was a soda-acid combination with the acid combination carried in a dishpan. The engine was pulled to fires by means of a rope. It was delivered to Hughsonville for inspection and a trial run before acceptance.

On January 20, 1913, the engine arrived and was stored temporarily in James Brouthers’ barn. An additional purchase of two hundred pounds of bicarbonate of soda, a carboy of sulphuric acid, six pairs of rubber gloves and two rubber coats was also authorized.

A building belonging to Mrs. Dean on Dean Avenue was procured for the first firehouse. Since local citizens fixed up the building for their use, the first three months rent was free. Thereafter, the monthly rent for the use of the Dean building was $2.00 a month.

On March 13, 1913, at a meeting held for the express purpose of forming a fire company, J. J. Hasbrouck was elected President; Fred Cornell was appointed Secretary-Treasurer and nominated for the position of Chief Engineer. Other nominations were: James Brouthers as First Assistant Engineer, Ronald Hasbrouck as Second Assistant Engineer, and Alex Laub as Foreman.

The first fire involving the new chemical engine occurred before the actual formation of the Fire Company and was in the James Curlew Blacksmith shop. Mr. Curlew donated $5.00 to the Company for their outstanding work at the fire. The engine performed perfectly.

The Hughsonville Fire Company became a reality on April 7, 1913.


It had been unanimously approved that an independent fire company be formed. The newly formed fire company was to be known as the HUGHSONVILLE FIRE COMPANY. There were 32 charter members of the company dedicated to serving their community. Minutes of that meeting, and of subsequent meetings, were recorded in a minute book purchased by the Secretary at the J.H. Fitchett Stationery Store in Poughkeepsie. The minute book still exists today. The history of the company has been glorious. Service to the community was, and still is, uppermost in the minds of all members.

Mr. Cornell was the first Chief, followed by John Burnett and Mr. Brouthers. Willis Phillips was elected to the position of Chief in 1924 and served until 1951. William T. Brady was elected Chief in 1952 and served until 1967.

The first fires that the Company responded to were in barns owned by Horner & Irving and both buildings were saved from complete destruction. The engine once again performed as expected.

On October 1, 1915, the company voted to move into larger quarters in a building owned by Abram Meyers, which was located on the northeast corner of Dean Avenue and Route 9D. The monthly rental was $3.00 per month. That building still stands today.

About this time, the members decided to remodel their engine. They added two wheels, plus a handle with a long rope to pull it. The very first time that they used it, the rope wasn't tight enough and it loosened, leaving the firemen running down the street pulling the rope---while the engine remained in its original position.

Mr. Crouse, who owned property near Wheeler Hill Road, donated the first bell used by the company. He had used the bell to call his servants. When his property burned down, he donated the bell to the company.

As time went by, the first rig was towed behind a pickup truck to fires. One Saturday morning when a fire broke out on Ketchamtown Road, the rig was hooked up to a produce truck owned by Irv Johnson and driven that day by Ollie Husted. The truck raced to the fire with the rig in tow. There was no doubt as to where the fire was—the route from the firehouse to the scene of the fire was littered with fruits and vegetables that had been thrown from the truck as it raced to the fire.

The first fire district lines extended from the Village of Wappingers Falls line over to Route 9, up to Middlebush Road and down Route 9D. The present fire district encompasses a three-mile radius—almost 9.5 square miles. It includes Route 9 south from the Village of Wappingers Falls line, south to the Town of Fishkill line, then west from the Hudson River to the New Hackensack fire district line at Losee Road and Eck Road.

The first motorized fire truck that the company owned was purchased from Ray Laffin of Wappingers Falls. It was a 1928 Chevrolet, with a 500-gallon-per-minute Jaguar pump. It contained two chemical tanks with hose. Henry M. Dodge did all the canvassing for the funds to purchase this engine. He personally went around and solicited the funds needed to purchase this truck.

New Hamburg, at this time, did not have a fire department, and Hughsonville used to answer calls in their area. On one return trip from a fire in New Hamburg, the truck had to be pushed up over Wheeler Hill Road because it was so overloaded with equipment. In fact, because it was so overloaded and used to go so very slowly to fires, kids on bicycles routinely passed the truck on its way to fires.

In 1941, the fire company acquired the building that formerly housed Hughsonville School District No. 5. The school was declared surplus when the Wappingers Central School District was formed. On Labor Day weekend in 1946, the building was engulfed in flames and was a total loss, including the truck housed inside.

A Stuts Fire Engine with a two hundred gallon tank and booster line, as well as a portable pump and several lengths of hose was purchased to replace the truck lost in the fire. The truck was housed in Burnett’s barn during the summer and in Reese’s garage during the winter to keep it from freezing up. Monthly meetings were held in the basement of the Hughsonville Presbyterian Church and the church bell was once again pressed into service to sound the alarm of fire.

In 1947, the first annual Company Bazaar was held to raise funds needed to rebuild the firehouse on the present site. In less than a year, the building was constructed and ready for service.

The support demonstrated by the community in rebuilding the firehouse so quickly represents the high esteem in which the community has always held its fire company.

After the firehouse was completed in 1948, the Company purchased four acres of land adjoining it and turned it over to the fire district. The fire company has purchased additional land over the years since that was turned over to the fire district to be used as the Board of Fire Commissioners deems fit.

A little known fact is that the Dutchess County Mutual Aid system had its beginnings right here in Hughsonville.

Garner Engine of Wappingers Falls, New Hamburg and Hughsonville developed an arrangement where they automatically responded to an alarm of fire in each other’s district to provide additional manpower and equipment.

After the receipt of 20 Plectron home receivers in December 1967, the Board of Fire Commissioners approved the introduction of Hughsonville into the first-alarm system of home alerting through the Dutchess County Bureau of Fire. This allowed all alarm reception, dispatching, fire control, and communications to be handled by a central professional dispatching office. Before this system, the Sloper-Willen Ambulance Service received all alarms.

In September of 1969, the new addition to the fire station was dedicated in ceremonies that started at 11:00 A.M., and ended with a Buffet Dinner-Dance that lasted into the early hours of the next morning.

Since then, the Hughsonville Fire Company, in concert with the Hughsonville Fire District, has continued to evolve into one of the premiere Fire Departments in the region.

The Board of Fire Commissioners has adopted and follows a Mission Statement promising that the best available equipment and training will always be provided to the volunteer members of the fire company to give them the greatest level of protection possible as they place their lives in jeopardy to protect their neighbors.

The future of the Hughsonville Fire Department promises to be as exciting and as progressive as its ancestry. With the continued active support of the community, the Hughsonville Fire Department stands poised to be prepared to respond to any type of call for help and any disaster, natural or man-made, as we move into the 21st century.