Skip to main content

FASNY Museum of Firefighting - Hudson, New York

Image
By

 

One of the things I enjoy doing is going to museums to learn about everything that New York State has to offer, especially when it comes to specific and unique subject matter. It just so happens that just outside the City of Hudson is one of America's premier firefighting museums, so I decided to make a visit. Dedicated in 1926, the FASNY Museum of Firefighting was formed as a result of an agreement signed by both the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (or FASNY, for short) and the Exempt Firemen's Association of the City of New York in 1923. This resolution stated that if FASNY would construct a building suitable for a museum, then four antique fire engines would be donated to the museum by the Exempt Firemen’s Association of the City of New York. The original size of the museum was 2,600 square feet, but almost a century later, the FASNY Museum of Firefighting has grown to 50,000 square feet in size and features one of the largest collections of firefighting apparatus, equipment, gear and memorabilia in the entire world.

When you visit the museum, you will notice the plethora of fire trucks as soon as you walk in the door. Before you can check out the centuries of firefighting history and interactive activities for families of all sizes and ages, there is a short orientation video to watch that gives you a history of this family museum. A lot of the various firefighting equipment, banners, patches and vehicles around the museum have been kindly donated from fire departments throughout the Empire State as well.

The non-descript museum entrance.


The main gallery of the museum features lots of different fire trucks, plus plenty of banners and even a few interactive exhibits.

All about fire hydrants.




Banners and an old fire truck.


Patches from different fire departments.


The main gallery is pretty spacious. There's a few dozen fire trucks in this one room.
Another room at the museum is decided more to historical artifacts and the history of firefighting.

Ancient Romans were among the first firefighters.

Some old firefighting equipment.

Older firefighting equipment.

The history of firefighting in New York State is as old as New York itself.


Newsham Engine from 1731, which is New York State's oldest authenticated fire engine.




Modern firefighting jacket.

An old pumper cart.









Leather buckets.

Antique leather bucket truck.


Sources and Links:
FASNY Museum of Firefighting - FASNY Museum of Firefighting
FASNY Museum of Firefighting - Our History
Firemen's Association of the State of New York - History
FireDex - FASNY Museum of Firefighting 
Flickr/Doug Kerr - FASNY Museum of Firefighting (entire photo collection)

How to Get There:



Update Log
February 12, 2018 - Original article posted to Unlocking New York.
August 24, 2021 - Article transferred from Unlocking New York to Gribblenation.
Labels:
Location: 125 Harry Howard Ave, Hudson, NY 12534, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

By
  Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

By
Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...
Post a Comment
Read more