As communities across the nation celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this year, one piece of Pocomoke City’s history carries a remarkable connection to not one, but two major national milestones.
A recently uncovered newspaper article from 1926 suggests that Pocomoke City’s historic steam fire engine may have originally been built for display at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, later exhibited again during the nation’s 150th anniversary celebration in 1926, and now survives today as the country marks its semiquincentennial, the official term for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The discovery sheds new light on one of the most recognizable artifacts in the history of the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company.
A May 15, 1926 article published in the Worcester Democrat and The Ledger-Enterprise described Pocomoke’s steam fire engine as an apparatus of historical significance that organizers of the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia might find worthy of display.
“The old steamer engine,” the newspaper reported, “was on exhibition at the Centennial Exposition, held in Philadelphia in 1876.”
According to the article, the engine was built for the exposition and was later purchased by Pocomoke at a reduced price. The Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company was formed in 1888 following the devastating fire that year, and contemporary accounts indicate the steamer was purchased in early 1889. That would place its acquisition approximately 13 years after the Centennial Exposition.
The 1926 article further noted that nearly 50 years later the engine remained capable of responding to fires and was still respected for its performance.
The newspaper explained that after newer fire apparatus arrived, town leaders considered disposing of the aging steamer but ultimately chose to keep it because of both its effectiveness and its historical value.
At the time, the article described the engine as “the first real piece of effective fire-fighting equipment the town ever owned.”
The significance of the article extends beyond the historical details it contains.
For years, historians with the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company had sought to determine the origins of the department’s Clapp and Jones steam fire engine, which remains in the company’s possession today. Much of the uncertainty stemmed from the destruction of the fire company’s records when the firehouse was lost in the devastating fire of 1922.
In a message published on the Pocomoke Public Eye, Fire Company historian Jerry Barbierri said the information helped answer a long-standing question.
“I along with the other Fire Company historians have been struggling for years to determine the origins of our Clapp and Jones steamer which is still in our possession,” Barbierri wrote.
“Due to our fire house along with all records being destroyed in the fire of 1922, we could only speculate on its origin.”
Barbierri added that the discovery provided an answer to a mystery that had remained unresolved for generations.
“And you solved that long unanswered question,” he wrote.
The timing of the discovery makes the story especially noteworthy. As the nation celebrates its Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of American independence, Pocomoke’s historic steamer can now be linked to two earlier national commemorations: the Centennial in 1876 and the Sesquicentennial in 1926.
Few local artifacts can claim such a unique link to the nation’s commemorations across a span of 150 years.
Today, the steamer remains one of the most treasured artifacts in the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company’s collection, serving as a reminder of both the town’s firefighting heritage and its unexpected connection to some of America’s most significant anniversaries.
Editor’s Note: Information regarding the 1926 newspaper article and the steamer’s connection to the Centennial Exposition was originally shared by Terry Kleger on The Pocomoke Public Eye. The Pocomoke City Arrowhead acknowledges and appreciates the historical research that brought this story to light.
