Fire Department History

The current City Administrator is working on gathering some historical bullet points for this page by reading through 145 years of city council minutes. 

It is unclear what happened prior to 1879 as we do not have city minutes or records before then. The city was incorporated May, 11th 1854 but at that time the town was located a few miles north of its current location closer to Rice Lake State Park. Some say the city moved south to be along the railroad and others say it burned down. Based on historical documents it sounds more like the city just wanted to start fresh with a grid layout and access to the railroad. I can tell you that in 1879 a Village was being built in its current location, the first dozen or so council meetings were solely dedicated to building sidewalks and setting ordinances. 

April 25th, 1879 - G.H. Houghton appointed Fire Warden for the Village of Claremont. 

May 2nd, 1879 - Ordinance 12 "to protect the citizens against loss or damage by fire was passed in Claremont, MN this 2nd day, May 1879."

September 5th, 1978 - Fire Department moves into current hall. 

1983 - first department pagers were purchased for $250 each. 

April 4th, 1984 - Ripley Township votes to discontinue fire services provided by Dodge Center and begin services with Claremont.