This cache is placed on a small lot containing a monument, directly across the street from the big red Gold Hill V&T Train Depot. You are looking for an ammo can. There is room for a car to park but there is plenty of parking directly across the street if needed. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN CROSSING THE ROAD!
As you are searching, please remain aware your surroundings. Snakes and spiders are starting to come out now that it is warming up.
Liberty Engine Company #1
Liberty Engine Company #1 (LECO) was one of the first fire company’s in Gold Hill when the Gold Hill Fire Department was first organized In 1863. It actually started life on this spot as Silver Bar Hook and Ladder Company and operated a hand drawn carriage carrying ladders, poles, rope and other equipment in support of another fire company that had a hand pumped engine that pumped water through hoses.
Later, in 1865, Silver Bar disbanded when they received a new two wheel hand drawn hose cart and reorganized as Liberty Hose Company #1. In 1895, this company again disbanded when they acquired a hand drawn and hand pumped fire engine of their own. They were again reorganized as Liberty Engine Company #1 and remained that way until they disbanded in 1938. The hand pumped fire engines noted here was of a typical type of the time and consisted of a large wagon with a pump assembly that allowed a hose to be dropped into a cistern and then long arms on either side of the engine were pumped from wither side by up to 10 people per side. The force of the down strokes and up strokes alone were sufficient to cause injury if one were not concentrating on the task.
Since silver was first discovered in 1859, Virginia City and Gold Hill lived with the constant threat of fire with most buildings being constructed of wood lined with cloth or paper and many times they shared walls and even chimneys. This was a recipe for a conflagration, especially with the high winds that could occur in the area. Examples of this kind of construction can be seen about 1 ½ miles up the road in Virginia City. Almost entirety of the main street is constructed in this fashion to this day.
Each company typically consisted of not less than 35 volunteer member and were not to exceed 80 members. LECO was no different. The individual fire companies were a unique fraternity with membership consisting of people from all classes of the community, from the daily miner working the mills, to the mine foremen, politicians, business owners and, in some cases, even women who acted in a certain capacity, mostly in support.
Until 1877, all fire apparatus was hand drawn meaning the firemen would pull the various carts to a fire. If you take a look at the streets and terrain around you at this location, can you imagine having to pull a large cart by hand up and down these roads? Especially when it is loaded with all sorts of equipment and they are running as fast as they can to be the first company to the fire. This, as you may suspect, resulted in many accidents that injured the firemen, bystanders, harmed or outright ruined the equipment and in a few cases, tore out complete sides of wood buildings.
Theses fire companies responded to all types of fires which were common and varied in nature. Whether it was a building, a trash heap, sage brush or inside a mine, these firemen rose to the occasion. The equipment they were using was very common at the time and would seem primitive by our standards today. There were many injuries and even several deaths in the line of duty. One tragic incident involved a member of Liberty Engine Company. In 1868, LECO#1 responded into the Virginia City area to assist with an arson fire. One of the LECO members, due to the confusion present at fire scenes, found himself assisting with pumping water from another fire company’s hand pumper that was parked very close to an open cistern. At some point during firefighting activities, he stepped back into the black hole. It was several minutes before other firemen became aware of his absence and quickly deduced what had happened. Despite a rescue attempt, this fireman fell 20 feet and was determined to have drowned in 8 feet of water.
By 1938, the population of the area had dropped drastically as the mines ran dry. Virginia City had taken delivery of their first motorized fire truck which led to the disbanding of Liberty Engine Company # 1. The building and much of its equipment remained on this lot, unattended and started falling into disrepair. Sometime in the late 1950’s the building collapsed under the weight of snow with all of the equipment inside. Before the building was torn down completely, much of the equipment had been salvaged and later restored. Many samples of the fire equipment have been recovered over the years and restored or kept in original condition by the members of the Virginia City Volunteer Fire Department.
One point of interest to note - the bell that you will see in the bell tower of this monument is the actual original fire alarm bell used by Liberty Engine Company No. 1 from 1864 until 1938.
NOTE: Much of the information in this short history was obtained from the book Red Shirts and Leather Helmets, by Steve Frady, published by University of Nevada Press in 1984. The book is out of print now but can be found in many libraries.