Then and Now: A Note From a Turn of the (20th) Century Firefighter

Here’s an interesting relic from the days when Lynnfield’s Old Meeting House was also a fire station. This postcard was apparently sent in 1907 by a Lynnfield firefighter, probably a volunteer. “This is where we keep our large (?) chemical engine, and all the Common we can boast of,” wrote a guy named Jessie back around Thanksgiving of that year. Either way, he was sending it to a woman in Malden who will go down in history as “Mrs. George Seavers.” The question mark was his, and the overall tone suggests he was a bit restless at that moment in his career. 

Lynnfield also had a “Chemical Hall” fire station near a site around Route 1 and Salem Street that is apparently now presently occupied by a Lou’s Roast Beef. I’ve come across references to these local places but still little info about why turn of the 20th Century firehouses seem to have briefly called themselves “chemical halls."