DURHAM, NC - Pictured is the Excelsior Hook and Ladder Company in 1892. Durham’s first all-Black volunteer fire department.

The company began in 1881 and disbanded in 1909 with the introduction of a paid fire department.
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It wasn’t until 1969 that white and Black firefighters in Durham would work side by side.
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N.97.5.171
From the General Negative Collection, State Archives; Raleigh, NC.

With no real solid evidence to the contrary the Excelsior hook and ladder company was formed some time in the mid-eighteen eighties. An article in" The Tobacco Plant" reads "Mr. Samuel Thaxton desires to return thanks to the citizens of Durham, both White and Colored, for their effort last Friday to save his residence from fire." This is dated March 17, 1881.

The meetings of the Hook and Ladder Company were held the 1st Wednesday in the Mayor's office. The first documented foreman was Peyton Smith who operated a grocery store on Peabody St. He remained foreman for several years and later moved his grocery to the down town area on West Main street.

The Tobacco Plant published an article November 17, 1887, praising the" colored hook and ladder company" for their timely efforts at a resent fire. They were sure to have been organized even before that but this is the earliest record found to this date.

The hook and ladder wagon was hand drawn in the beginning, with an unknown number of members, but was later about 16 or 18 men.
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In the month of January, 1894, the mayor gave a reception for them. Several of the leading White citizens as well as the fire chief, delivered speeches heaping praise on the company for the fine work they were doing.

A promise was made to get horses for the wagon. The promise was made good and they soon had a pair of fine Black horses named Frank and Bill and a stable on West Main Street to house the wagon.

The demands for service increased and the two White companies were up grading their equipment as well. The new fire station was built to house the #1 hose company and a need arose for more horses.

The horses for the hook and ladder company were replaced by two mules named Rhoddy and Molly. Frank and Bill were moved to the No.2 hose wagon.

Frank died some time later and a proper mate for Bill was never found he became one of the most famous horses in the state attending a number of conventions and tournaments of the White firemen.

Capt. Turner, while relating stories about the early fire department remarked that the mules were no trouble to start when the driver stepped on the gong, but they were hard to stop.

They didn't stay long and horses were again assigned to the hook and ladder. A pair of dark brown horses named Bill and Bob took the place of the mules. They served the company well until early one morning, while answering an alarm in the northern part of the town, Bob fell dead at the corner of Main and Roxboro.

Robert Ruffin, a Black man, apparently had a way with horses for he became a member of hose company No.2, a White company, as a paid hostler.

He went along with the White firemen to the state tournament and convention in Wilmington to care for Bill and Dixie. Dixie had torn a hoof in a practice run a few days earlier and needed special attention.

A photograph taken in front of No.2 station in 1903 shows a Black fire fighter in the seat of the steamer. This man is believed to be Robert Ruffin.

The city fathers had a hard time in their minds of letting good horse flesh stand idle. There was always someone trying to find a job for the horses when they were not actively pulling fire equipment. From time to time the horses were assigned to pull the sprinkler for wetting the streets to keep the dust down, or to some other duty.

On one occasion when the horses were occupied an alarm of fire was sounded at a location more than a half mile from the station of the hook and ladder. Being very strong men the firemen pulled the wagon by hand the full distance. While reporting on an accident one of the local papers gave the weight of the wagon to be over two tons.

Accidents were common to both men and horses, some serious. On one occasion the hook and ladder was making a run down Main St. when fireman John Burnett attempted to get on the moving wagon.

He lost his grip and was thrown to the ground with such force as to be rendered unconscious. It was first felt the injury was serious but after being taken to his home and placed in bed he regained consciousness and was fully recovered the next day.

An almost identical accident involving one of the White firemen, Patrick Farthing was a little more serious. He was attempting to board the moving wagon and was being helped up by one of the Black firefighters pulling at his shirt. the shirt tore and his grip failed throwing him under the wheel of the wagon, he was in a coma for about two days and it was feared that his foot was so damaged it would have to be amputated, however, he did recover.

Physical condition of these early fire fighters was superb due to the heavy labor most of them were involved in. A fire alarm in East Durham one afternoon drew the attention of Peyton Smith and Mack Lyon. Without hesitation they started running. They ran for a distance of more than a mile and arrived in time to assist in fighting the fire.

Excelsior, sponsored the tournament and convention of the Volunteer Fireman's Association in 1894 and again in 1907. Huge crowds attended and a great time was had by all.

They loved a parade and were eager to join in for the open house celebrations on May 10th each year for the police and fire departments. It is rather ironic that the last parade they participated in was a celebration for the confederate veterans in 1912.

Durham had gone to a paid fire department in March of 1909 and in 1912 the city purchased a building in back of the No. 1 station. Four hundred and eighty seven dollars was spent to raise the building high enough to accommodate the hook and ladder company.

The hook and ladder company moved to the new station and was manned by White firemen. February 1913 found a delegation of Black citizens with a petition, before the city fathers making a request for a retired hose wagon to be donated and used in Hayti, using Black firemen. The request was referred to committee which reported back that a suitable lot for a fire station could not be found and the matter was never heard from again.

Finch Bumpass had replaced Payton Smith as foreman and was later replaced by Bart Barbee. Bart Barbee's photograph was identified by his grandson who remembered his uniform to be green with a Black border.

He was foreman of a crew of the water company and was paid seventy five cents a week extra to be a foreman of the fire company. The rest of the men of the water company that were also firemen were paid fifty cents a week extra. Several of the early firemen were freed slaves.

Finch Bumpass died in August of 1912. Bart Barbee the last foreman was born February 25, 1856 nine years before emancipation and died September 20,1940 just eighteen years before the next Black fire fighters were hired October 1958.
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Citations:

1888 - The Daily Tobacco Plant on October 10, 1888, reported on the Durham Exposition parade, which included the Colored Fire Company following the Dick Blacknall Hose Company and hose carriage.

1889 - The Tobacco Plant on May 4, 1889, reported on last night's meeting of the Board of Town Commissioners, and their recommendation that the "incoming Board" purchase a hook and ladder truck for the colored fire company.

1893 - The Durham Globe on April 6, 1893, identified Peyton Smith as the foreman of Excelsior Fire Company No. 1.

1893 - The Durham Globe on April 13, 1893, printed a letter of thanks to the Hook and Ladder Company, addressed to Peyton H. Smith, Esq., Chief Colored Fire Department," from J. S. Manning and in appreciation for the "good services last night and at such an inconvenient hour and distance in preventing the destruction of my property by fire."

1905 - Excelsior Horse H. and L. Company listed in 1905 conference proceedings.

Career-Era:
Black career firefighters were proposed as early as 1949. "Council safety committee recommends that Negro personnel be trained as firemen"
was the title of a Durham Morning Herald story on July 22, 1949. Reported the paper on July 29, City Council deferred that action. But approved motion to "augment Negro personnel on police force."

Eight Black firefighters hired in October 1958. They were George Washington King, Walter Thomas, Elgin Johnson, Velton Thompson, Robert Medlyn, John O. Lyon, Nathaniel Thompson, Sylvester Hall, Thomas Harris and Linwood Howard.

They staffed a newly built Station 4 at Fayetteville and Pekoe Streets. The station opened October 1, 1958, and served predominately Black Hayti neighborhoods.

The company used "hand me down" equipment, including an older engine. By 1969, the entire Durham Fire Department was integrated, and the now ten members of Engine 4 were working at fire stations throughout Durham