Walpole Massachusetts Fire Engine House Hose No. 1 Truck 1906 Real Photo Postcard

This 1906 postcard depicts an engine house in Walpole, Massachusetts, a structure central to the town's early 20th-century municipal fire protection. The labels H & L. 1 (Hook and Ladder Company 1) and HOSE No. 1 indicate it housed at least two primary units, reflecting a formalized volunteer or paid fire department evolving beyond basic bucket brigades. Such buildings were vital as Walpole, incorporated in 1724, developed from an agricultural settlement into a more industrialized community needing robust public services.