The Cedar Street Fire House (a.k.a. Whitt Hall / Fire Museum) is located one half block West of this geocache.
A brief history of the Whitt Hall/ Fire Museum:
August 17, 1906
President Bransford, Trustees Landis and Lange were present at Thursday evening’s adjourned meeting of the “City Fathers” and the principal business was the formal acceptance of the new engine house on Cedar Street between Jackson and Lincoln Streets and the payment of $1,357.83 to Contractors O’Connor Brothers, leaving a balance of $1,424.50 to be paid a month later. The total cost of the handsome engine house which will soon provide adequate fire protection to residents of the western portion of the city has been $5,698.00 and the building is a credit to the community as well as a safe-guard.
The motion that the building be accepted was made by Trustee Landis and seconded by Trustee Lange and was carried by a full vote of the members present. Contractor Frank Hendricks presented a bill of $148.49 for extras ordered by the building committee composed in the first place of Trustees Stice, Weast, and Landis and after the reorganization of the Board of Trustees Landis, Walton and Lange. The additional items include among other things a plank floor in the stalls, clear and select red fir flooring instead of Oregon pine and finishing work. This bill was ordered paid without demur.
The new fire house which will be the home of Engine Company No. 2, as soon as one can be organized is situated on the west side of the alley having a driveway to Lincoln Street as well as egress and ingress from Cedar and Jackson Streets. The structure is of Tehama County brick, well selected, and stands two stories in height, being 45 feet in width and 70 feet in length. There are four ordinary stalls for horses and two box stalls for the fiery steeds which are on duty ready to haul the apparatus to fires. The upstairs is fitted up neatly as a meeting room and there is a commodious hay-loft. Two sets of stairs lead to the upper floor from the front and rear and the entire building,
Red Bluff's first motorized firetruck ,was a 1918 pumperthat provided water at 500 GPM. It was manufactured by the White Motor Co. This vehicle remained in active service 34 years until 1952. It was restored in the 1970’s and is currently on display at the firehouse and can be seen in various parades.
The building has been preserved and transformed into a museum that showcases artifacts, photographs, and equipment related to the fire service in Red Bluff. The museum offers a fascinating look at the early days of firefighting, with displays that highlight the evolution of fire trucks, hoses, and other firefighting gear, as well as newspapers and photographs of earlier times in Red Bluff.