By BOB RIGGS
Indiana Correspondent

NEW ALBANY, Ind. — The century-and-a-half old, two-story, firehouse at 319 W. Market on the city’s north side is an example of renaissance revival architecture. The exterior is brick and the street-facing wall is a thick gray-white façade. The entire building is capped with a heavy cornice.

Cut deep into stone above the door are the words “Hoosier No. 3.” A placard attached to the front of the building has an institutional date of May 30, 1839. However, there is another placard on the right side that says the construction was finished in 1855.
A 1966 Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal newspaper story said the building’s brick walls are three layers thick, and the front is made of stone. In that article there was talk of the crew moving from the 110-year-old structure. One of the fireman told a reporter that vibrations from the fire engine might cause the building’s collapse.
In the mid-1800s, New Albany’s fire companies were all volunteer. The money for buildings and equipment was raised by from the city’s businessmen and residents, as well as receipts from neighborhood balls, entertainment, excursions and picnics.
An archive in the New Albany, Floyd County Public Library said “Hoosier No. 3” was occupied by Oceola Fire Co. 3. Furthermore, the Oceola Fire Co. was an efficient organization and became a favorite fire station in city.

Auctioneer Barry Brewer said the building was purchased in the early 1970s by John Grim, who had several auction sales there in 1973. After retiring, Grim used it to store his antiques.

Brewer said horse-drawn equipment was used at the station for decades. In the early 1900s, the firehouse’s first gasoline fire engine was purchased. That engine is still housed in a New Albany museum at the former Coyle Chevrolet dealership showroom.
On July 19, Brewer sold the building along with John Grim’s antiques, including several 1940s Buddy L trains and trucks and a 1920s steam engine set. The building alone was purchased for $187,500.

The winning bidder was a long-time resident of New Albany. She plans to turn the building into a themed bistro with a bar and an outdoor garden.

Work is already underway. Outdated drywall and carpeting is being torn out and the old fire pole has been uncovered. The new owner plans to keep many aspects associated with the building’s history.
A library archive story chronicled what the Oceola Company volunteers wore when they took part in 1853 in a Louisville Fourth of July parade. “White coats, faced and tipped, and read and blank pants and drab hats. Their engine was drawn by six, gray horses and their hose carriage by four, black horses,” the story said.